UTILISING ALL RESOURCES TO TACKLE BURGLARY

GMP has hosted a strategic seminar for Operation Castle, the forcewide initiative to tackle burglaries across Greater Manchester.

Operation Castle was established in 2021 and has seen numerous successes in the way that we respond to burglaries.

In the 12 months to February 2023, the force solved 68.7 per cent more residential burglaries than in the previous year, and the number of people arrested on suspicion of burglary increased by 42.1 per cent.

In the same period, we recorded 688 fewer residential burglaries. This is despite improved compliance with national standards, which has resulted in increased recording across many crime types.

During the pictured seminar, officers from across the districts heard from several guest speakers, including Deputy Mayor Kate Green, the Home Office lead for burglary and acquisitive crime and university professors.

Internal speakers Superintendent Chris Foster and Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes spoke about the ways the force can utilise all resources available to help prevent, reduce and tackle burglary offences through educating officers in best practice.

As part of the event held last month, officers and staff also heard from a victim of burglary, Peter. He attended the seminar alongside his wife Maureen and gave an emotional account of when their home was burgled.

Peter spoke about his love for football and the similarities between his experience of being burgled and his beloved game.

He mentioned that football is ‘a game of attacking and defending’. In his case, the opposition breached his home defence and scored a goal, taking his hard-earned valuables.

Peter also spoke to officers about his personal experience and how GMP could improve dealing with victims of burglary in the future.

ACC Sykes said: “This event was important for us as a force to tackle these issues head on.

“By bringing together a number of people and experts from a number of disciplines, we can enrich our knowledge and hear from victims of burglary, who can aid our understanding and help improve our response to future incidents, to ensure that we keep our continued promise of keeping the public safe.”