Positive results reflect ongoing commitment Trafford neighbourhood officers have to keeping community safe

Trafford neighbourhood officers have had a busy few months getting out and about in the local community, whether that’s been engaging with residents, tackling crime head on or providing visible reassurance across the district.

Throughout the past few months, they’ve been involved in a range of operations and events, including our Safe4Summer campaign and Operation AVRO.

As part of Safe4Summer, a campaign which ran from June 30 to September 30 that aimed at reducing crime across our town centres, our neighbourhood officers took part in a community day in Altrincham on September 12.

The day involved officers hosting a bike marking and crime prevention stand at Stamford Quarter as well as speaking to the local community about any concerns they may have had.

On 24 September, neighbourhood officers attended local synagogues for Rosh Hashanah, a Jewish holy day. Officers engaged with the local community and provided safeguarding and reassurance. This type of work has increased since the Heaton Park synagogue terrorist attack that happened in October.

On 22 October, Operation AVRO returned to Trafford resulting in 25 arrests taking place across the district for crimes including assault, theft and drug related offences.

The day started off with early morning warrants where numerous arrests were made after large quantities of drugs were found at several properties.

A knife arch was set up at Trafford Bar tram stop to detect any weapons passengers may be carrying.

The neighbourhood team were joined by officers from Project Servator in Stanley Square in Sale where they showcased the new live facial recognition vehicles which had only been deployed for the second time since their introduction.

Community activity on the day included crime prevention stalls at Sainsbury’s supermarket in Sale and Altrincham Interchange in the afternoon, led by local Trafford PCSOs, as well as high visibility patrols across the town centres with our Mounted Unit and police horse Trooper.

District Commander Mark Dexter said that the day was a huge success adding that “a large amount of illegal cash and drugs were taken off the streets.”

The traffic neighbourhood team were out and about on 23 October conducting two separate traffic operations.

The first one was on Barton Road where officers were stationed around school kick out time to conduct a speeding operation.

Several vehicles were stopped and given the appropriate advice.

They then moved onto a second operation where they tackled illegal electric bikes being used on our roads.

Four bikes were seized, and resources were concentrated around the Talbot Road and Seymour Grove areas.

These results reflect the ongoing commitment our officers in Trafford have to keeping the community safe. Work continues with partners to build long-term solutions and support victims.

Over the summer, the Trafford Neighbourhood Prevention Hub worked with a young female who was residing in a care home and was frequently reported missing, with incidents occurring almost daily.

Concerns were raised regarding who she was associating with, as intelligence suggested she was concealing knives for certain individuals whilst out with them.

It was thought she also had potential involvement with urban street gangs in the area.

She disclosed multiple incidents to care staff including attempted rape, sexual assaults and physical assaults which led to her being referred to the Missing from Home Officer within the Prevention Hub and a problem-solving record was initiated.

A range of interventions were implemented to encourage her to remain at the care home and to engage with staff. Efforts were made to help her understand the risks associated with going missing and the dangers she faced while unsupervised.

After a number of strategy meetings with Trafford Social Care about the suitability of her placement, a decision was made to relocate her to a specialist Child Sexual Exploitation care home in Shropshire.

Since her move, there have been no further missing episodes. She is engaging positively with both staff and her education. She has expressed that she feels safe and is grateful to the police and partner agencies for facilitating her relocation.

She shared that she had felt frightened whilst living in Trafford but was unable to articulate her fears or seek help. She also reflected that she did not fully understand the risks she was exposed to, as her primary motivation was to feel accepted by the peer groups she associated with while missing.

This case study shows how effective our prevention hub is in Trafford in protecting the most vulnerable people in our community.

The North Trafford neighbourhood team have successfully tutored a number of new officers over the past six months, contributing greatly to the development of the areas next generation of frontline police.

However, their hiring didn’t stop there as the district recently increased their numbers after attesting 11 of their youngest officers to date.

Neighbourhood officers Sergeant Tim Ansell, PC Andy Walsh and PC Karl Barry run the Mini Police programme and have partnered with Lime Tree Primary Academy in Sale.

The Mini Police programme aims to increase trust and confidence within both young people and early intervention and education.

Superintendent Marcus Noden said: “The Mini Police is all about working for yourselves, your school and your community. You’ll learn new skills, take part in new experiences and be involved in events in your new roles whilst representing GMP. You never know, there may even be a future Chief Constable with us here today!”

Sergeant Tim Ansell gave the mini officers something to look forward to after half term, with the promise of an outdoor search activity being the first of many exciting sessions planned.

To find out more about what’s happening in your neighbourhood, visit the Your Area pages on our website and sign up to Bee in the Loop – your direct line to local policing updates.