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

This week’s neighbourhood round up highlights the work of our neighbourhood officers in Tameside showcasing how our teams are delivering GMPs Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. 

Our neighbourhood officers work hard to safeguard vulnerable people, tackling crime head on and working alongside partners to solve long term problems.

On 1 December, the team discovered a cannabis farm at an address on Ash Road in Droylsden worth more than £2 million. It was discovered following extensive intelligence gathering, which included thermal imaging footage from a drone.

The officers struck at 7am and located thousands of plants. This resulted in seven arrests for the team and another cannabis farm removed from our community.

Earlier this month the Tameside neighbourhood crime team managed to secure a charge after there had been a series of burglaries across Oldham and Tameside. 

A 19-year-old man was charged with 33 counts of attempted burglary after being arrested on 9 December by PC Gilbert following the report of suspicious circumstances where officers detained him after a foot pursuit. 

Over in Denton, the dedicated neighbourhood team were tackling issues that had been reported in Victoria Park. 

Some of the issues that were reported were criminal damage, public order offences and general anti-social issues. 

Fighting crime isn’t all the team have been doing this festive period though. The Christmas magic faced a slight bump in the road when Santa’s sleigh broke down on the way to Tameside General Hospital! 

However, our neighbourhood policing team were on hand to help to make sure some of the bravest children in our community received their gifts. 

The presents that Santa had in his sack were bought from tuck shop money used by the officers at Ashton Police Station. Selection boxes, sweets and other confectionary were handed out to the children at Tameside Hospital.

The officers also managed to get some selection boxes donated from B&M and Iceland stores within Ashton Town Centre.

Thankfully Santa did make it to the hospital and made sure every child received a gift and a visit from the man himself. 

Moments like this remind us about the importance of community and coming together when it matters most.

As part of our Safe4Summer campaign, which ran from the end of June until the end of September, the team increased their visibility in the area, conducted stop and searches and gathered intelligence to prevent further incidents.

Back in November, Tameside neighbourhood officers attended schools across the district. They visited St James’ CE Primary School to speak to pupils as part of their topic ‘People Who Can Help Us’. 

The children learnt all about the important role police officers play in keeping us safe. 

Similarly, officers from the Tameside North neighbourhood team teamed up with the Message Trust charity to deliver the No More County Lines Tour across schools. 

The aim was to educate and protect young people from the dangers of county lines exploitation. 

Students listened to real life stories and took part in interactive sessions to learn how to spot signs, stay safe and speak out. 

In October, neighbourhood officers linked up with the charity Foundation 92, who support communities across Greater Manchester, to provide mobile youth provisions to crack down on anti-social behaviour and engage with young people. 

The mobile hub was parked in known hotspots and had multiple resources on board like games consoles as well as preventative messaging. 

These types of hubs aim to educate young people with their development and provide signposting to ways they can improve themselves both personally and socially instead of turning to crime. 

Back in September, Operation AVRO returned to Tameside resulting in 42 arrests taking place across the district for crimes including driving and drug related offences. 

The day started off with early morning warrants executed by neighbourhood officers and the Tactical Aid Unit (TAU). 

High visibility patrols were conducted at the Cemetery Road tram stop and a traffic operation to ensure vehicles were roadworthy and drivers were insured and not speeding took place in Ashton, resulting in 53 Traffic Offence Reports being issued. 

Local schools, Holy Trinity and St. Peter's cleaned up the local area on a sunny morning litter pick, while a clean up facilitated by Tameside Council removed the nearby overgrowth to help deter criminals concealing items in the area, with two knives recovered in the process.

Chief Superintendent Chris Foster said that the day was a huge success adding that “by acting on intelligence received from our communities and partnership working, our officers can tackle the issues we’re told matter most to the people of Tameside, which include speeding, drug dealing, and anti-social behaviour.”

These results reflect the positive impact and ongoing commitment our officers in Tameside have to keeping the community safe.

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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.