Oldham police take part in Operation Acquire's first day of action

Neighbourhood teams in Oldham, alongside neighbourhood officers force wide, took part in Operation Acquire last Wednesday (June 7).

Operation Acquire is Greater Manchester Police’s initiative to tackling neighbourhood crime offences, with high visibility and plain clothes patrols taking place in crime hot-spot areas, conducting increased stop searches and increased arrests during the day.

These days of action consist of intensified activity to tackle neighbourhood crime, with extra resources deployed to support the efforts.

During the morning, officers and PCSOs conducted proactive visits and searches of scrapyards across Oldham and seized a number of vehicle parts that were suspected to have been a product of recent vehicle thefts in the area.

A team of PCSO’s held police surgeries in Royton and Shaw, and spoke to members of the public about crime prevention and ways people can keep themselves and their property safe from criminals.

The surgery was well received and attended by the community - affording members of the public the opportunity to come and speak to their local officers who police their streets and are a familiar face in their neighbourhood.

Later on in the morning, officers conducted a joint operation with neighbourhood officers in Rochdale, where officers recovered three suspected stolen vehicles which will be taken for forensic recovery and reunited with their owners.

Patrols around crime hotspots also took place to help detect and deter offences.

This included targeted activity around Derker and Moorside which has been the focus of heightened partnership activity with the police, housing and the local authority.

In the afternoon, neighbourhood officers and PCSOs conducted a traffic operation in Failsworth using the ANPR police car to flag up stolen vehicles and those driving without insurance alongside Chief Inspector Abi Cronin and Superintendent Phil Hutchinson, who joined officers during the operation and on patrols in the area.

Chief Inspector Cronin, of GMP’s Oldham District, said: “In Oldham we are actively targeting criminal networks and tackling crimes that matter most to our communities. 

"We're also working with our partners to problem solve in the area working by collaboratively with the local authority, specifically local councillors to deal with issues such as anti-social behaviour, violence and drugs in our communities.

"I want to be clear this day of action is not a one off - it is our sustained and determined effort to reduce crime and violence across Oldham and to make neighbourhood officers more accessible to you - the public - so we can work together to make our communities safer." 

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