A Greater Manchester Police team cracking down on knife crime makes 85 arrests
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Operation Venture, which was launched in early December, has been responding at a rapid pace to combat the threat of knife crime.
Those detained by its expert team members have been questioned over a range of offences from possession of an offensive weapon and attempt robbery to public order and drugs offences.
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Hide AdAs well as 85 arrests, since its inception the team has also conducted 32 disruption visits, made 26 partnership referrals and submitted 124 dedicated intelligence reports mapping out knife crime hotspots and threats across geographical locations.
It has also been, and continues to use a range of tactics to detect and deter knife-related crime in neighbourhoods across Greater Manchester – from conducting patrols in hotspot areas and executing warrants to targeting offenders known to carry knives and conducting weapons sweeps in areas known for discarding knives.
Insp Jon Ezard, lead for Operation Venture said: “Every incident involving knife crime or serious violence is one too many, and we know the devastating effect that these can have on our communities.
“We have arrested 85 individuals and taken 33 weapons off our streets as we look to tackle knife crime and the hurt it is causing our communities.
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Hide Ad“We will not tolerate knife crime on our streets, and we will not stop until our communities feel safe where they live, safe where their children play and safe in the knowledge that when they need us, we will be there to apprehend the individuals involved in this type of criminality.
“We cannot do this alone however and we urge you to get in touch if you suspect anyone is involved in violent criminality. Thanks to members of the public reporting their concerns, we have made several arrests and continued to build our intelligence pictures to keep our communities safe.”
Operation Venture is also complemented by the work of Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit – a multi-agency team that seeks to address the underlying causes of violence and works together with communities to prevent it.
Deputy Mayor for policing, crime, criminal justice and fire, Kate Green, said: “Operation Venture has proven effective in taking knives off our streets and making our communities safer, and I would like to thank each of the officers for their dedication to removing weapons and keeping people safe.
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Hide Ad“Alongside a proactive policing approach, a key part of our work in Greater Manchester is educating those who might be at risk of offending. Since launching in 2019, Greater Manchester’s Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) has commissioned and supported education programmes in schools across the city-region. For example, the Social Switch programme is educating local young people, parents and professionals in Greater Manchester on the safe use of social media. We have also developed relationships with local schools through School Engagement Officers and local neighbourhood officers, who have been educating pupils around the dangers and consequences of knife crime, not only for victims, but their families and the wider community too.
“With voluntary organisations across Greater Manchester, the VRU has also launched eight community-led programmes across the city-region, with two others launching soon – one in each district - tailored to the local community’s needs.