You’re nicked

NO stone unturned . . . the new unit with DI Jamie Daniels, front right, and Sgt Paul Walker, front left, will be hunting Oldham’s villains

THERE will be no hiding place for Oldham’s most wanted crooks after the launch of a police team dedicated to hunting them down.

In a new crackdown, Oldham Police’s Pro-active Unit hits the streets today with the task of targeting prolific known offenders.

The team will also be deployed to any area that suffers a rise in crime and aims to catch offenders red-handed, deter criminals and disrupt criminal activity.

Police chiefs say that while crime has fallen they want the unit to drive it down even further and make Oldham a safer place.

The team of 16 officers is led by Det Insp Jamie Daniels and Sgt Paul Walker, who will lead the team on the ground.

Det Insp Daniels told the Chronicle: “The team will be hunting down wanted people in this division and bringing them to justice. They will leave no stone unturned in doing that.

“The unit is a sign of this division’s commitment in making sure that the people of Oldham suffer far less from people that want to commit burglary, robbery and vehicle crime.

“We want these people that commit these offences to know that we have a dedicated team of officers that will be looking to identify them if they commit offences of any kind and arresting them where any level of suspicion exists.

“Where we identify there’s been a rise in burglary, which is fortunately an uncommon occurrence in this division, the unit will be deployed and they will lock that area down.

“Any person that’s in that area that we suspect is up to no good will be thoroughly investigated and the team will make arrests wherever they can.”

A large portion of crime is committed by the same individuals and by focusing on them the unit believes there will be a big impact on crime rates.

Det Insp Daniels added: “The unit will be intelligence-led but we are aware of our key offenders in Oldham and they should be aware that we have a dedicated team that will be watching their every move and arresting them at even the slightest opportunity.

“People that are wanted need to understand that there’s a team that will go the extra mile of finding them.

“We expect that we will drive down further still burglary, robbery and vehicle crime in Oldham. We are not prepared to tolerate any offences of that kind.”

Sgt Walker said: “We will be visible and high-profile on the streets seven days a week.”