The DIU (District Intelligence Unit) should be seen as the engine room of a district.
It enables and supports the daily sharing of information and intelligence, which ultimately helps us to effectively investigate and solve crime, protect people, engage with partners, and build community relationships.
The DIU is integral to the effectiveness of a district, and they are there to facilitate and simplify how intelligence is collected, analysed, shared and then actioned.
The secret to a successful DIU is the flow of information through it. It is therefore essential that all staff understand the importance of intelligence submissions and how you can contribute to this process.
Highlighted within this month’s brief you will hear what a DIU does, and how they can help you. You will also see examples of the excellent work which goes on daily by the team.
As we strive to improve our knowledge and understanding around the districts SOC / biggest threat profile, there will be an increase in the use of Intelligence Collection Plans (ICP’s).
ICP’s are designed to help us close gaps in knowledge by giving a clear focus on information required. This is where you as operation officers are vital to as you are the eyes and ears within the community.
ICP’s also help provide a formal structure for the collection of information therefore supporting frontline officers in their roles.
I encourage everyone to visit the DIU, to understand what they do and how they can best help you in your roles.
Thank you
Detective Superintendent Alicia Smith
Chief Constable Annual AwardsStaff Employee of the Year nominee
Every year, officers and staff come together to celebrate those across our force which have gone above and beyond in the Chief Constables Annual Awards.
The ceremony, which will be taking place on Friday 27 September at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, encompasses 14 different categories including Police Officer of the Year, Staff Employee of the Year, Problem Solving and Innovation with three nominees for each category.
One of these nominees is Investigative Assistant Izzy Hallan who has been nominated for Staff Employee of the Year.
Izzy Hallam is an investigative assistant in Trafford’s complex safeguarding team. Izzy is an instrumental part of the team and works closely with the young people across the district who wouldn’t usually engage with warranted police officers. Izzy’s unique approach builds trust and confidence with the young people, who then trust Izzy in her role, due to her incredible ability to engage at their level. This approach has enabled Izzy to gain intelligence from children who are usually difficult to reach, enabling her team to share information with partner agencies to safeguard those most in need.
Izzy has used her experience in the role to deliver inputs to partner agencies
about the importance of sharing intel and how intel should be handled emphasising the sensitivity of the information that is shared.
Izzy is particularly passionate about meeting and speaking with young women who have been affected by sexual exploitation, in order to better achieve the Chief Constable’s vision of supporting those affected by violence against girls and women. Her approach is always victim-focused and trauma –informed: specifically in terms of recognising that these young women are often dealing with shame around their experiences, so first and foremost building rapport is crucial in establishing trust, to give them a safe space to be able to talk about their experiences and their abusers.
Her work has been commended not only within the force, but also by Deputy Mayor Kate Green on a visit to the district earlier this year.
Included in her citation for Staff Employee of the Year: “Izzy is immensely likeable, approachable and brings her own humour and personality to her work without compromising on professionalism when representing Greater Manchester Police.
“In short, as the kitchen is the heart of a good party, Izzy is the heart of our team.”
A huge congratulations to Izzy and best of luck to her for the awards!
Are you ready for Right Care, Right Person?
Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) is set to go live at GMP on Monday 30 September.
RCRP is a nationwide initiative aimed at identifying the most appropriate agency to provide support to our communities. The police are not always the right agency to respond to calls from the public, and RCRP will provide a framework for those calls to be directed to providers who are better placed to help.
In Greater Manchester, RCRP will apply to G15 jobs which cover concern for welfare, patients walking out or going AWOL from healthcare establishments, and medical support. Missing persons are no longer part of RCRP and now fall under Operation Addition.
Please be aware that no changes should be made to the way we work before Right Care, Right Person is live.
Whom does this affect?
Decisions around RCRP will be made predominantly within FCCO and by call
handlers using a rigorous assessment tool. District officers and staff are not required or responsible for making RCRP-related decisions; and district teams will not need to refer to RCRP at any point during their shift. If you have a query about a job which you believe should fall under RCRP, please speak to your line manager.
RCRP and the law
Under common law the police do not generally owe a duty of care to protect individuals from harm – whether this is caused by themselves or others.
The Human Rights Act 1998 does include provisions under which the police are responsible for taking reasonable measures to protect individuals from harm caused by others or by themselves:
• When there is a real and immediate risk to the life of a specific and identifiable person or group of persons (Article 2); or
• When there is a real and immediate risk of that person being subject to serious harm or other inhumane treatment (Article
3).
Under GMP’s RCRP processes, we will no longer respond to category one medical matters; these will be passed to the North West Ambulance Service as a matter of course.
Training
Before RCRP goes live on 30 September, all officers and staff in training and public-facing roles must complete a 15-minute training package via College Learn, which can be found at https://www.learn.college.pnn.police.uk/ CL/Content/Summary/47978.
If there are any issues or queries you would like to raise, please email RCRP_ Training@gmp.police.uk.
Resources and support
You can find news, updates and resources for all aspects of Right Care, Right Person on our dedicated intranet hub.
If you have a question about Right Care, Right Person, you can email the project team at RCRP@gmp.police.uk.
Meet the Press Office: your communications team
The corporate communications branch is the bridge between the force, it’s employees and the public.
The branch deals with all internal and external communication with employees and the media.
Our main goal is to support operational policing and to enhance public confidence. The branch is located on the ground floor at Greater Manchester Police Force Headquarters (GMPFHQ).
In today’s fast-paced world, effective communication is essential for public safety.
Their mission is to keep the public informed, safe, and engaged while also supporting our officers and staff. The press office provides proactive and reactive communications and media support to officers and staff of all ranks.
The team is made up of a media manager, two team leaders, a number of media officers, two social media support officers and a public relations and communications
apprentice.
The press office takes on a variety of initiatives to increase public safety and enhance communication. For example, we warn and inform the public in response to incidents and emergencies.
The team also produce multimedia content to help with reduction and prevention of crime, harm and anti-social behaviour, while also publicising delivery of good work to build public trust and confidence.
In addition, they provide training and support to officers of all ranks, helping them navigate media interactions.
Finally, they facilitate media opportunities proactively and reactively across incidents and portfolio areas, as well as requests for filming and documentaries, ensuring that all enquires are managed through the press office.
Following the tensions throughout the UK, they focused on ensuring that communities within Greater Manchester felt safe and supported
by:
• Providing messaging to build community reassurance and confidence in policing
• Showing what patrol officers were doing, patrols they were carrying out.
• Promoting the sentencing and charges people involved in the riots.
The press office office hours are Monday to Friday from 6:30am to 7pm and on weekends from 8am to 4pm.
For any enquiries, please contact the team at ext: 62230 during weekday office hours or via email at press.office@gmp.police.uk. Out of hours contact can be made with the on-call press officer via the force duty officer.
This series within district Brief will continue to highlight each of the teams within the corporate communications branch with a bit about what they do and what they are currently working on.
Introducing the Trafford DIU
Across the district, there are a number of teams which work together as a collective to tackle crime across our communities.
The District Intelligence Unit (DIU) are one such team – a specialised team committed to the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information, thereby supporting divisional investigations, and enhancing law enforcement operations making a significant contribution to the improvement of safety within our communities.
The team
Within Trafford, the team currently comprises:
Detective Inspector Chris Horsfield, Detective Sergeant Rachel Darby, Detective Sergeant Gray Wilton, Intelligence Analyst (IA) Hannah Atkinson, three intelligence officers, four intelligence support officers, three neighbourhood intelligence officers and an operational support apprentice.
The DIU compiles information from a diverse array of sources, gathering data pertaining to criminal activities, suspects, organised crime networks, and emerging threats. This information is obtained from the general public, surveillance product, informants, and collaboration with other law enforcement agencies.
Once the intelligence enters iOPS, it is reviewed by the intelligence support officers who are trained to identify any threat/harm/risk and flag this to an appropriate officer for review. They then identify what needs to be done with the intelligence, for example it may need further development, at which point they will task it to an appropriate person to develop it further. This is usually one of the intelligence officers - Jim May, Andy Pickles or James Phillips who work within the Challenger office.
Any high-risk intelligence is forwarded to the duty detective inspector, who will in turn review and set appropriate actions to mitigate the risk.
The teams IA Hannah is trained to identify connections, recognise patterns, and evaluates potential risks. She scrutinises trends,
correlations, and anomalies that inform ongoing investigations - a thorough understanding of criminal behaviour enables the division to allocate our resources more effectively.
Example of an emerging trend
Recently Hannah identified an emerging trend in relation to the theft of spare wheels from Land Rovers. As she researched, she discovered they were valued between £500 and £3000 each and noticed a spike around the Trafford Centre. She established contact with other divisions within GMP and other forces and discovered this was not an exclusive problem to Trafford. Having liaised with Cheshire Constabulary, she identified that over £60,000 worth Land Rover spare wheels were stolen between Jan 24 and April 24. This was then raised as an emerging trend in their Divisional Tasking meeting (DTTCG) and appropriately tasked for action to be taken. This strategic approach ensures that the team’s efforts are both efficient and impactful.
Hannah also utilises predictive models to foresee potential criminal activity (Horizon scanning). By analysing historical data and identifying high-risk areas, the team can proactively allocate resources. This methodology allows for the prevention of crimes before they occur, thereby enhancing community safety.
Partner collaboration
The DIU engages in collaboration with other agencies at both national and international levels. They share critical information amongst the team and other forces and partners, coordinate efforts, and track criminal networks across borders. Such collaborative efforts significantly enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement operations.
A successful intelligence operation necessitates active engagement with the community. Neighbourhood units foster trust, gather local insights, and encourage citizens to report any suspicious activities some of which is submitted by officers as intelligence
which then drives resources and focus towards those areas. Community participation is essential for the success of crime prevention initiatives.
An example of some of the other work the team do is the effective utilisation and management of the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system, the hotlist for which is managed within the DIU. Trafford had 1136 ANPR alarm activations in June 2023 and this continued to improve throughout December 2023 to 2365 activations which translated into some excellent positive vehicle stops for possession with intent to supply, driving whilst under the influence and weapons recoveries getting some exceptional threat related results for issues such as Operation Tahara and Operation Flood. This work has specifically been highlighted at force level with ANPR Manager Inspector Middleton commenting “Trafford is now leading the way in terms of district VOI list management.”
A further example is in relation to obtaining and assistance in the execution of warrants. Weekly intel meetings are held whereby decision are made regarding which intelligence holds the highest Threat/Harm/Risk, the team seek to obtain warrants ether in relation to the actual intelligence or via parallel means.
For instance, they may have one piece of firearms intel which would not be sufficient to obtain a warrant, however through development they may be able to obtain other types of warrant’s which will allow them to disrupt the criminal and allow searches of premises.
The Trafford DIU serves as the cornerstone of law enforcement. Their behind-the-scenes efforts are integral to the fight against crime. Through the processes of gathering, analysing, and acting on information, they contribute significantly to the safety of our neighbourhoods and the establishment of a more secure society.
Feel free to come and chat to the team to find out any more information – they are based at Stretford Police Station first floor mid corridor.
