Salford edition of The Brief – November 2023

THE VOICE OF GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE

SALFORD · NOVEMBER 2023

VIPER BOOTH UPGRADE BEGINS AT SALFORD

2 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

Swinton kicks off upgrade

Whilst preparing to bid farewell to the Salford district ahead of a new GMP role, I reflect with some sadness to be leaving, but with an overwhelming sense of pride at what I have first-hand witnessed the fine officers and staff of Salford achieving day in and day out, and often against all odds in our ongoing fight against crime, and your genuine endeavours to keep the good people of Salford safe.

In the past 15 months, much has changed, for the good, about Salford district policing as we, like GMP as a whole, strives to provide outstanding public service.

There is no doubt that Salford has a unique layer of social complexity which increases the challenges of dealing with policing demand.

However, in the face of that complex demand, which has notably increased over the past year, to quote your District Commander, you regularly, “punch above your weight!”. You manage the volume of that demand well, your first priority always being to sustain public protection.

Your challenge is to put your heart and soul into ensuring you provide outstanding service, focusing on: • Provide an excellent response to incidents and emergencies • Investigate and solve crime well (document that good work clearly on your crime reports) • Reduce and prevent crime in your neighbourhoods (embrace problem solving approaches) Within the true ‘spirit of Salford’, look after yourselves and each other.

Be very proud of your efforts and your achievements. I will miss Salford, your enthusiasm, skills, and the can-do attitude across the district. In your hands, the people of Salford are in good hands.

Detective Superintendent Ryan Davies

On Monday 23 October, Swinton Custody Suite received a muchneeded upgrade to their VIPER Booth, meaning they can now capture highquality custody images of detainees.

This comes as the start of a Forcewide upgrade, as currently when a detainee is brought into custody, an image is captured using a desktop computer and a small camera that produces a lowquality image.

VIPER Booths are a self-contained unit which are currently used to capture moving images of suspects for ID parade purposes, providing a professional, highresolution moving images.

This additional feature will enable all custody suites in GMP to take professional, high resolution, uncompromised custody capture images from day one of the new system being installed.

There has been a significant amount of work undertaken to bring this feature online, including software updates to the booths which ensure interoperability with PoliceWorks.

Inspector James Booth, project lead for VIPER said: “This addition is a muchneeded improvement to the current set in our branch.

The project presented several challenges along the way, but with a fantastic team made up of internal and

external key stakeholders, including the National VIPER Bureau, we have worked relentlessly to bring this project to fruition.

“I would like to thank every member of the team involved for their hard work, tenacity, and commitment.

“Being able to deliver this significant improvement to the way that GMP capture custody images not only falls in line with the Chief Constable’s Plan on a Page around ensuring that our IT infrastructure is fit for purpose, but will also have huge investigative benefits and improve our compliance with uploading images to the PND.” The add-on is expected to yield several benefits for GMP. Most importantly, it will provide us with high quality images that will allow us to submit these images to the Police National Database so they can be used for facial recognition.

Quality images will also be available to be used in briefings across the Force, as well as higher quality images for press releases and improving public appeals.

The new system will assist GMP to become a more intelligent organisation and improve infrastructure, ensuring effective agile working whilst reducing the risk to vulnerable people.

All booths will be upgraded across the Force by the end of October.

3 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

‘On track to be UK’s best force within two years’ After reflecting on the standard of the work of this year’s Annual Awards winners and other shortlisted candidates, Chief Constable Stephen Watson confidently stated that we will be the best performing police force in the country within two years.

He found it harder than ever to choose the winners this year, due to the sky high standard of the nominations across the 18 categories, and used the glittering awards ceremony held at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium to commend the work being done across GMP to continue the force’s rapid resurgence.

The Chief said: “Our Annual Awards offer the chance to pause for a moment to reflect on what it is that you are collectively and individually achieving in the interests of the public whom we serve.

“I send a huge heartfelt thanks to you all, because what GMP is achieving right now is special.

“We have gone from special measures and being 43rd out of 43 forces to smashing every reasonable measure of efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy.

“GMP was the most improved force in the country last year, and I confidently

predict that we will be so for the second consecutive year.

“We are on a mission to be the best police force in this country for the next 30 years – and we will achieve it.

“In two years’ time we will be ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ at all things and we will be the best performing force in the country, because of you.

“It’s all down to your performance, your leadership and what it is you’re asking of yourselves and your colleagues.

“It’s about professionalism, it’s about diligence, it’s about standards, it’s about compassion and it’s about being relentless in harrying criminals and looking after good people and preventing bad things from happening to them.

“It’s about picking up the phone, making accurate records, investigating lines of enquiry, arresting bad people, looking after vulnerable victims, making sure that we keep folks informed and operating proactively to prevent crimes and anti-social behaviour from happening in the first place.

“I could not feel more privileged and honoured to be entrusted with the leadership of this force, and I thank

you all for everything that you have done and continue to do.”

The Chief has labelled October’s event ‘a glorious occasion’ for GMP and congratulated all the officers, staff members, volunteers, apprentices and Cadets who won awards on the big night.

He has pointed out that the 18 award categories highlight the fact that GMP is a ‘full spectrum organisation’, rewarding everything from ‘very localised interventions through to highly specialist interventions that use fearsome forms of technology to tackle criminals who cause the most harm, and everything in between’.

Never one to rest of his laurels, the Chief has also pointed out that there is still much work to be done to realise his strategic vision for GMP. “We know we can do more and we know we can do better – we have to move from quantity to quality, from behaviours to culture,” the Chief said.

“But we have started to nail the basics in a way that is not only making a big difference to our public but is making GMP start to be seen as an exemplar for the rest of the country.”

4 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

Congratulations to all our Chief Constable’s Annual Awards winners Rochdale CID’s Operation Cardington team were the big winners at the Chief Constable’s Annual Awards.

After scooping the Criminal Investigation of the Year category title, the team were crowned the Overall Award winners at a glittering ceremony held at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson hailed the team on the big night for their outstanding work in establishing the extent of serial domestic abuser and rapist Andrew Ellison’s offending and bringing him to justice for his appalling crimes.

The team subsequently labelled the double award win ‘the icing on the cake’ to a standout investigation that culminated in a 28-year prison sentence for Ellison and some much needed closure for his five victims.

See the ‘Double delight for Op Cardington team’ article on the intranet for the full details.

Although the team are undoubtedly worthy winners, the Chief admits that he found picking the winners of this year’s awards incredibly hard due to the extremely high standard of the nominated candidates.

Addressing the candidates on the night, he said: “It was a very hard job because we were inundated with a great volume of fantastic nominations this year, but it was a brilliant job as it was enlightening and left you feeling motivated.

“There were times when it felt almost impossible to distinguish between excellent police work and the excellent work of those who support the frontline most excellently.

“You are all worthy of being here. You all are reflective of a resurgent GMP, and you all represent the very best of GMP and the very best of policing nationally.”

The standard was so high for the Unsung Hero Award that the Chief could not decide on a sole winner for it, so he chose to have two winners instead.

He also created a new Proactive Investigation of the Year award due to the amount of standout nominees in the Criminal Investigation of the Year category.

A full list of the award categories and the winners is below, with corresponding photographs to the right: 1.

Overall Award and Criminal Investigation of the Year: Rochdale CID’s Operation Cardington team – Detective Sergeants Ruth Thompson, Tim O’Callagan and Rick Shelton, Detective Constables Marshall Trower, Russ Clarke, Mel Jeffery, Rachael Stafford, Georgina Jones and Hannah Havard and Intelligence Support Officer Kelly Parkinson.

2. Apprentice of the Year: Safer Transport Team Business Administration Apprentice Dominika Majdziak.

3. Bravery Award: Trafford Neighbourhood Policing Team officers – Sergeants Marc Foster and Tim Ansell and Police Constable Marcus Wolstencroft.

4. Cadet Leader of the Year: Tameside Voluntary Police Cadet Unit Leader Garry Joynes.

5. Cadet of the Year: Tameside Voluntary Police Cadet Unit Head Cadet Toby Parker.

6. Innovation: Force Contact, Crime and Operations Branch (FCCO) Marple implementation team – Crime Recording and Resolution Unit (CRRU) Business Lead Rebecca Greaney, CRRU Manager Kristopher Langdown, Digital Policing Programme (DPP) Sergeant Adam Frank, DPP Police Constables Mark Jones, Dominic Ginty and Mark Harrison and Change Project Manager David Millington.

7. Operation of the Year: Operation Wolverine – Sergeant Mike Lawrenson and Police Constables Myles Edwards, Joanne Ferguson, Martin Reynolds, Mark Bateson, Ryan Davies and Wayne Redfearn, PCSOs Maria Hughes and Claire Broome and Administration Assistants Gary Bolton and Hazel Smith.

8. PCSO of the Year: Wigan PCSO Michelle Ashurst.

9. Police Officer of the Year: Stockport Response Police Constable Tracy Hallworth.

10. Problem Solving: Operation Vulcan – Detective Superintendent Neil Blackwood, Detective Chief Inspector Jenny Kelly, Detective Inspector Christian Julien, Inspector Andy Torkington, Detective Sergeant Matt Donnelly, Sergeant Dan Cullum, Detective Constables Rob Smith and Peter Williams, Temporary DCs Vanessa Gilbert, Rachel Gill and Matthew Bowling, Investigative Support Officers Nick Price, Neil Ingram and Libbi Anderson, Police Constables Antony Rushton, Jamieleigh Clark, Simon Pymm, Saad Khan, Matthew Kech, John Galloway, Jennifer Burd, Lewis Boucher, Adam Challenor and Nick White, Major Incident Analyst Cain Ashton and Media Officers Fleur Armitage and Abigail Richardson.

11. Staff Member of the Year: Procedural Standards Forensic Specialist Hannah Marney.

12. Special Officer of the Year: Bury Special Constable Adam Duffy.

13. Student Officer of the Year: Bury Detective Constable Morgan Skeels-Caldwell.

14. Team of the Year: Bolton Neighbourhood Priority Crime Team (NPCT) – Detective Inspector Jon Waywell, Detective Sergeant Carla Deighton, Detective Constable Simon Swann, Sergeant Sarah Dixon and Police Constables Kiernan Bishop-Phillips, Matt Cookson, Joel Dalton, Jack Shaw, Emma Critchley, Georgia Ashcroft, Hannah Kirk and Sam Burgess.

15. Unsung Hero Award: Nexus House Catering Assistant Sophia McCurrie and Design Studio Manager Jay Ashworth (Sharon Kaberry picked up Jay’s award on his behalf).

16. Voluntary Police Cadet Unit of the Year: Bury Volunteer Police Cadet Unit Volunteer Cadet Co-ordinators Inspector Ryan Page and PCs Tim Heap and Claire Wright and Volunteer Cadet Leaders PC Luke Woodcock, Special Constable Steve Bolton, Dr Rebecca Page and now retired Comms Operator Allister Taylor.

17. Volunteer of the Year: Bury Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator Dorothy Stoddard.

18. Proactive Investigation of the Year: Operation Somerled – Serious Organised Crime Group’s Syndicate 3’s Detective Inspectors Anthony Norman and Claire Rawcliffe, Detective Sergeants Colin Shackleton, Ryan Grumbridge, Phil Kennedy, Mark Atkinson and Mark Dunnington, Detective Constables Anthony Scott, Lee Siddall, Bryn Reeves and Dominic Greenwood, retired DC Glynn Mason, Intelligence Support Officer Roger Galt and Intelligence Analyst Donna Thomas.

Check out the dedicated ‘Chief Constable’s Annual Awards 2023’ section of the intranet for more photos and information about the awards.

5 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

A range of dignitaries – including the Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester Diane Hawkins, the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester Mary-Liz Walker, the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester Kate Green and GMFRS’ Deputy Chief Fire Officer Ben Norman – assisted the Chief in handing out the awards. The winners are photographed picking up their awards on the night. The photograph of the Op Somerled team has been excluded due to them being a covert team.

6 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

Mission accomp for Operation Pr

Conservative Party Conference policing operation

The policing operation for the Conservative Party Conference was once again a success this year.

The major event for Manchester saw thousands of visitors and delegates welcomed to the city.

It took our officers over 12 months to prepare for Operation Protector.

The four-day conference held in October was a multi-agency security operation that successfully showcased Manchester as a vibrant, friendly city that can host large-scale events peacefully and with professionalism.

More than 10,000 people safely visited the city, to the benefit of local businesses and the local economy.

On the opening day of the conference, around 3,000 protestors marched through the city and attended a rally which went ahead without incident.

Unrelated to the event, a number of proactive arrests were made in the city, demonstrating that it was business as usual for many officers on the ground.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes, Gold Commander for the event, said: “Security operations of this scale are always complex and require a high degree of multi-agency work.

“With our partners, we worked tirelessly to protect delegates, enable protests and keep our city safe, and I am proud to hear such positive feedback about our staff, who performed their duties to the highest of standards.”

The success of the conference has further boosted Manchester’s reputation as an iconic city for major events.

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said: “I know many thousands of you have been involved in executing what was again an immense policing operation, whether that be through planning the event, policing it, assisting visitors, catering and all those on divisions who carried and took up the slack of those deployed at the conference.

“This operation is something which really strains every sinew of GMP. “These conferences are really important for our city region and Greater Manchester Police, as they give us an opportunity to showcase what it is that makes GMP such a great organisation.

“My thanks go to all of you for your professionalism, your diligence and your cheerfulness.

“You did a fantastic job and I am very proud of you.”

7 THE BRIEF

plished rotector

n an overwhelming success

NOVEMBER 2023

Behind the scenes of operational preparation Manchester has up to 119 million visitors a year, and policing large-scale events is a common occurrence for GMP. Ensuring the safety and security of participants and spectators is a monumental task for these events.

The force undertakes a meticulous and comprehensive set of preparations to ensure that these events go off without a hitch.

The latest Operation Protector showed that extensive planning is key to a successful operation.

Protective Security Operations Chief Inspector Roger Worrell, the Lead Planning Co-ordinator for Op Protector, said: “I work on Op Protector for 12 months, and the planning and logistics team are brought together six months prior to the Conservative Party Conference. This team comprises 15 officers and a police staff member, who are seconded from their ‘day jobs’ to work solely on Op Protector.

“Their work focuses on ensuring the appropriate resources are rostered for duty across the operation and that they are provided with the right vehicles, accommodation and accreditation for their roles.”

Ensuring that each element of the security operation is in place is key, and the team focus on mitigation measures for various threats, such as deploying National Barrier fencing to prevent a vehicle attack, using detection equipment to stop a drone in mid-air and implementing large-scale searches in conjunction with the military to identify and find any improvised explosive devices.

The four-day conference itself saw: • An average of 1,650 officers deployed on Op Protector duties per day • A total of 235 police vehicles used • More than 16,000 hot meals served by GMP Catering on and off site for Op Protector.

The operation involves multiple partners, such as the military, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and fire and ambulance services. They are all involved from the beginning of the planning stage.

CI Worrell added: “I’ve helped plan three Op Protectors – in 2019, 2021 and 2023 – and I’ve already started to work on the 2025 conference.

“There were no major incidents at this year’s conference, which is a mark of success – the team did an excellent job and all the hard work and planning paid off.

“Working on Op Protector gives me real job satisfaction, and when it’s over and everything has gone well… I can breathe a sigh of relief!”

8 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

Celebrating Black History Month at FHQ October saw the annual celebration of Black History Month, which honours and commemorates the significant contributions made by Black individuals throughout history.

GMP’s Black and Asian Police Association (BAPA) marked Black History Month with a celebratory event held at FHQ on Friday 19 October.

The event boasted a host of speakers, West African and West Indian food and engaging conversations.

Kicking off at 10am, poet Deanna read out a couple of beautiful and elegant poems that focused on the struggles of the Windrush and celebrated ‘sisters’ of BHM. Guest speaker and historian Linford Sweeney – an Africancentred history educator, family history researcher, coach and author – then shared his insights into the rich history and contributions of the Black community.

Linford, from Manchester, provided an educated display with a humorous twist, giving the audience a deeper insight into how far back Black people have been influencing the UK. After enjoying tasty West African and West Indian treats such as patties and coco bread, the attendees watched a short play performed by actor and director Marcus Hercules.

Incorporating a variety of dance and drama, the play revolved around the Windrush, particularly the loss of family and the struggles of the streets.

Marcus amazed the audience with his energetic style in delivering an outstanding performance with a thought-provoking message.

BAPA’s Deputy Chair Julian Addison said: “BAPA would like to thank the esteem guests for giving their time to attend FHQ and sharing their wealth of knowledge and talent.

“BHM really hits home and makes you think of the struggles people went through, and highlights that everyone is equal.

“This national celebration will continue to promote understanding of Black heritage and culture.”

Black History Month has its roots in the United States. It was initiated in 1926 by Dr Carter G Woodson.

Since then, it has evolved into an international celebration that allows us to reflect on the struggles, achievements and experiences of Black people worldwide.

BHM has been celebrated in the UK since 1987, providing an opportunity to acknowledge the rich tapestry of Black heritage and culture that enriches our society.

9 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

GMP the king of problem solving Greater Manchester Police is officially the best force in the UK when it comes to problem solving.

Not only was GMP the only force to be crowned the winner of more than one of this year’s five Tilley Awards, Operation Vulcan was unveiled as the overall 2023 Tilley Award winner at the National Problem Solving Conference hosted by South Yorkshire Police in October.

Since it was launched in November 2022 to tackle organised crime gangs embedded in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways, Op Vulcan has led to more than 220 arrests being made, over 200 counterfeit shops being closed down and more than 1,000 tonnes of counterfeit items – with an estimated street value of over £140 million – being seized.

Chief Superintendent Emma Taylor, Head of the Prevention Branch and the Strategic Lead for Problem Solving, said: “Problem solving is crucial to modern policing, and the results of this year’s Tilley Awards proves that nobody is doing it better than GMP, which is something we should be hugely proud of.

“The national awards were set up in 1999 by the Home Office to acknowledge and celebrate the best examples of problem solving in UK policing, with five winners and an overall winner announced every year.

“Huge congratulations to the Op Vulcan team for deservedly being crowned this year’s overall Tilley Awards winner. The amazing work of the team has scuppered the vast amount of organised criminality in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways and led to those areas being completely transformed.

“Congratulations also go to our other 2023 Tilley Award winner, a successful initiative that was launched in 2021 to reduce knife crime and robbery incidents at a housing estate in Bolton through changing the layout of the environment.

The tactics – including a partnership approach to successfully applying for a public safety protection order and making environmental changes such as improving lighting, providing new fencing and alley gates – led to a 72 per cent reduction in robberies in the area.

“I would also like to say well done to Operation Overspill for being our other problem solving initiative in the top 10 shortlist for this year’s Tilley Awards – no other force had more than one initiative in the top 10.

“Op Overspill has seen hundreds of people arrested and a significant reduction in robbery incidents since it was launched in May 2022 in partnership with Bolton Council to keep people safe in the town centre at night following an increase in reports of robberies, other crimes and anti-social behaviour.

“This all highlights our commitment to becoming a police force with prevention and problem solving at our core, and the fantastic progress we have made in this regard.

“We know that problem solving is very effective at reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and keeping our communities safe.

“The initiatives that have received recognition via this year’s Tilley Awards are just some of many examples of GMP working with partner agencies to achieve excellent results.”

Op Vulcan also won the Problem Solving category at our Chief Constable’s Annual Awards held in October.

Detective Superintendent Neil Blackwood, who leads the Op Vulcan team, said: “I’m incredibly proud of the team, who deserve all the recognition they get.

“It’s been a privilege over the past year to work with a fantastic team of dedicated officers and partner agencies who have given their all to tackle the organised crime associated with the counterfeit trade to create sustainable changes in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways.

“Those areas feel completely different to where we were 12 months ago, and we hope to achieve similar success in Piccadilly Gardens now that Op Vulcan has been launched there.”

Check out the Tilley Awards articles on the intranet for more details about Op Vulcan and our other nationally recognised problem solving initiatives.

10 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

Wellbeing at Greater Manchester Police Wellbeing tour goes to Spec Ops The Wellbeing Team visited the Specialist Operations Branch in October to help its SPoCs raise the profile of wellbeing, the importance of looking after yourself and the support that is available.

The mini Wellbeing on Tour event was organised by Spec Ops Inspector Craig Birkhead and his committee, who arranged for one of the Oscar Kilo vans to attend Openshaw, Clayton Brook and Eccles over three days.

Partners attended from Police Mutual and No1 CopperPot Credit Union, to provide financial support and information.

Our Occupational Health team carried out health checks over the three days.

Code 9, GMP’s men’s mental health support group led

by Sergeant Stuart Charlesworth and ex-Merseyside Police firearms officer Russell Fairclough, was also represented at the event.

A coffee van was at all sites, offering freshly ground coffee, tea and hot chocolate whilst people spoke to partners and colleagues.

Engagement levels escalated over the three days of the mini tour, with 50 members of the force engaging on day one, 103 on day two and 117 on the final day.

That’s 221 individuals who now have more tools in their box to help them when they are struggling!

Grief first aiders coming soon The Wellbeing Team have been working closely with Cruse Bereavement Care to introduce a new volunteer role.

Volunteers will be able to offer a one-to-one confidential listening ear to any member of the force going through a bereavement.

Bereavement will impact us all, and having a safe space to talk about your feelings and the person/thing/future you have lost helps people to process their grief and work through the stages of it.

There will soon be a cohort of individuals who are specifically trained and available to offer this support to colleagues.

Please keep an eye on the Wellbeing intranet pages for further details, or speak to your Wellbeing SPoC. Awareness in November • Movember (all month): Men’s health is in crisis. Men are dying on average four-and-a-half years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons. A growing number of men – around 10.8 million globally – are facing life with a prostate cancer diagnosis, testicular cancer is the most common cancer among young men and across the world a man dies by suicide every minute of every day, with males accounting for 69 per cent of all suicides. You can get involved in Movember in many ways, from growing a moustache to arranging awareness talks and everything in between. Simply type ‘Movember’ into your search bar to find the dedicated website.

• Lung Cancer Awareness Month (all month): This annual public health campaign was devised to increase awareness about lung cancer, its risk factors, early detection and treatment options.

• Pancreatic Cancer Month (all month) • National Diabetes Month (all month) • Talk Money Week (Monday 6 to Thursday 10 November) • White Ribbon Day (Saturday 25 November): This sees the start of 16 days of action against violence against women and girls.

Supporting Op Protector The Wellbeing Team were based at the designated Refreshments Venue during Operation Protector, speaking to officers who were deployed to the policing operation for the Conservative Party Conference.

Partners Police Mutual and Nuffield Health carried out over 50 health checks there as part of the wellbeing support.

Thanks to everyone who engaged and spoke to the team about wellbeing and support.

Help is always at hand If you are struggling, there is always someone to talk to: • Peer support in GMP: Contact the Wellbeing Volunteer Co-ordinators to be put in contact with an individual who has lived experience of a situation you are currently going through.

• Health Assured: You can call the employee assistance programme’s free, confidential helpline 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 0800 028 0199.

• Samaritans: A listening ear is always available on 123 116.

11 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

Operation Venture continues through district-led intelligence

Knife crime remains a priority for the Force with a focus across districts, from community-led engagement and educational support to enforcement and disruption visits.

Across October, Operation Venture have been working with districts to continue to target serious violence with a team of specialist officers.

Supporting the district in this way resulted in nine arrests and eight weapons seized in one week as patrol plans are determined through district intelligence led support as well as using data to determine where patrols are needed the most to help reduce violent crime and reassure communities.

At the beginning of October, officers from the Operation Venture team worked

across Broughton and Eccles arrested individuals and acted on intelligence as well as being deployed to hotspot locations to disrupt violent crime.

Officers also supported neighbourhood officers in their fight against drug use within our communities in and around Eccles Town Centre, as well as paying several disruption visits to people who had previously been arrested for violent crime related offences and to ensure they were complying with bail conditions.

During the visits officers also offered Navigator referrals to offenders.

Navigators is a service provided to young people to help them break the cycle of falling into further violence and provides them with access to local support networks.

Inspector Jon Ezard said: “Operation Venture is intelligence led and it is about sending officers to support districts and protect our communities. Ultimately, we want to disrupt the chain of violence and safeguard as many young people as possible.

“This involves talking to people that we come across, building that intelligence picture of violent crime hotspots – not only for ourselves but also supporting districts when they need additional resilience.

“We take appropriate action and arrest offenders where necessary and also make referrals into support services to try and reduce violent crime for the longterm, whilst ensuring we are making our communities a safer place.”

Messages of thanks from the community Thank you for PC Cross PC cross kept in constant communication with the victim in a recent case, providing regular updates and managing expectations.

PC Cross was professional, and handled this case with sensitivity as the victim was highly distressed through the process due to having had her wedding and engagement rings stolen.

The victim said: “Thanks again for recovering my rings, it’s our wedding anniversary next weekend so we can go away happy that they are returned.”

Compassionate care from two officers A vulnerable lady was found wandering the streets in the early hours by PC Ashcroft and PC Litchfield.

The officers looked after the lady, and informed her daughter in a sensitive and non-judgemental way, as she said: “It’s good to know we have exceptional officers applying their knowledge of vulnerable elderly people and persisting on contacting numerous members of their family members, rather than just escorting them to a hospital in a very confused state of mind.

12 THE BRIEF

NOVEMBER 2023

A day in the life... Ali Barber

PCs Christine Sharp, Catherine Mangnall, Lenka Ogunmoroti, Alison Barber and Katie Beer

Hi, my name is Ali Barber (yes, that is my real name) and I am the Detective Sergeant in the Threat to Life Team based at Swinton Police Station.

We are a small team which consists of myself, DI Ormes, PC Christine Sharp, PC Lenka Ogunmoroti, PC Katie Beer, PC Catherine Mangnall and Heather Davis, who is our designated Social Worker.

The team was set up 8 years ago after the murder of Paul Massey, who was gunned down on his driveway as part of a dispute between feuding Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) in Salford.

At the time Massey was murdered, it was realised that the way Salford dealt with OCG members

and specifically Threats to Life (TTLs) needed a different approach to make sure the people affected are protected.

This was never more prevalent than when a 7-year-old boy and his mother were shot on their doorstep. It is now accepted that if these dangerous gang members can’t get to those they are in dispute with, they will target family members.

Every day can be different, and at times very difficult as we can be actively involved in removing children from families to ensure that they are safe.

The OCGs in Salford are dangerous and function at a high level of criminality bringing its own complexities when we are trying to safeguard family members

who are linked to a threat to life.

Imagine this; intelligence is received that one OCG member intends to shoot an opposing gang member. They both have children, the risk is real and immediate and all you have is a piece of paper in your hand warning the gang member they are at risk.

What would you do? What about the children? What about the neighbours?

What about the community?

This is what we deal with on a regular basis, and our unit is only successful if we can get these families to engage with us, put in effective safeguarding measures and ultimately reduce the risk to them all.

Threats to life are usually as a result of an incident occurring e.g. firearm discharge, arson, violent assault or as a result on intelligence being received.

They can be a result of a member of the public approaching you with some information and if this happens it’s vital you get as much information as possible, including who is the potential victim, who is the offender, what is the location, and what was the method, such as firearm, knife, arson?

We are a unique unit to Salford, and there is no other team like ours in GMP. In fact, we are not even sure if there is another team like us outside of GMP! If you want to know more, please feel free to come and see us, there are always biscuits, and occasionally chocolates!

Excellent result for meticulous investigation On 29 November 2022 a 15-yearold girl was walking along Princes Avenue in Salford, when she was approached from behind by a man who then dragged her off before sexually assaulting and attempting to strangle her.

In October 2023, Jacob Lee of Pilgrims Way in Salford was sentenced to 11 years in jail after pleading guilty to kidnap and strangulation.

On the night back in November 2022, despite being extremely scared, the girl managed to fight off her attacker and escape before bravely reporting the incident to police.

An investigation was immediately launched by officers and detectives in Salford and following quick forensic

work of evidential items recovered at the scene, Lee was identified, arrested and charged.

Thanks to the meticulous evidence officers compiled during their investigations, Lee was compelled to plead guilty to the kidnap and strangulation of the 15-year-old.

During sentencing, the judge was heard to describe Lee as a dangerous offender who represents a great risk to women.

Detective Constable Stuart Bentley said: “I firstly want to commend the young victim and her family for their strength and bravery in reporting this incident to Greater Manchester Police.

“As a team, we are extremely pleased that our hard work and dedication

has secured a conviction and put a dangerous offender behind bars, ensuring justice for the victim and protecting other women and girls.

“The outcome of this case just shows what our officers can do to support victims throughout every aspect of the investigation and showing that we take all reports of sexual assault seriously.”