“I’ve seen the effects that it has on the communities, I can’t have it here.”
GMP officers arrest a man in Harpurhey
It’s morning and we’re strolling through the market, exchanging pleasantries with traders and punters. Then in an instant we’re cutting through the side streets of Harpurhey to box in a suspected a drug dealer.
The suspect is eventually caught. Found with illegal substances on his person, he is arrested and a search is carried out at his address.
This is a tiny glimpse of what a normal day is like for the GMP officers based in the suburb only a few miles away from the city centre.
The M.E.N spent around an hour, on foot, with the neighbourhood policing team lead, Inspector Dan Pickavance and PCSO, Angie Meah on Tuesday morning (December 3).
PCSO Meah and Inspector Pickavance on patrol
For Inspector Pickavance, who is affectionately referred to as “the boss”, his aim is stop Harpurhey from descending further into deprivation and to get a handle on the spate of burglaries, shoplifting and drug dealing that is blighting the area.
“I’ve started to see it since arriving,” he said, while talking about the re-emergence of spice in Harpurhey. “It was mainly crack cocaine here and unfortunately, since doing safer for summer, we started to see the spice is coming back.
“And I’ve said to my team, I said, that for me is a major concern. I was working in the city centre when we had this ‘spice epidemic’. I’ve seen the effects that it has on the communities, I can’t have it here.”
PCSO Meah and Inspector Pickavance
Inspector Pickavance also made mention of HMOs and its inhabitants being a particular issue that is growing in Harpurhey. “It’s a massive issue,” he confirmed.
“We tend to have large amounts of predominantly young, unemployed unskilled males. A number of them with issues such as, drug use, alcohol misuse, as well as being on bail or being on license.
“They get put in the HMO and that obviously brings massive issues, certainly for the street where these HMOs are, because we’ve got to remember, there are families living on them too. If you have these sorts of issues, it brings the whole area down.”
Inspector Pickavance was supported by his small but mighty team who were also on foot, in vehicles and back in the station scouring CCTV footage when the call was made over the radios about the suspect.
A winter crime blitz is underway in Greater Manchester as teams across the force come together to support a Home Office-led campaign.
Local police teams across the region are undertaking a ‘Winter of Action’ as part of a crime-busting Operation North Star which began in November.
GMP officers out and about in Harpurhey for operation North Star
It follows our Safe4Summer work, which saw multiple crime-types tackled across the board earlier this year.
That operation saw shoplifting and theft reduced by 20%, street crime down by 11%, and serious violent crime down by 8%, according to GMP.
The force says that more than 22,000 patrol hours across 82 hotspots in between June and September were carried out across the ten districts.
In total, the action saw more than 2,000 arrests and more than 1,400 positive stop-searches, contributing to 10,000 fewer crimes compared to last year, according to GMP figures.
Now Greater Manchester Police wants to see similar results this winter. Op North Star will see a continued focus on retail crime, anti-social behaviour, violence against women and girls, and the night-time economy.
GMP say it will be working closely with partners following further funding from the Home Office and new recruits to bolster their operation.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle, GMP’s lead for local policing, said: “Through our ongoing Operation North Star, our local policing teams will be supporting the Home Office’s Winter of Action campaign, and utilise all of the resources we have at our disposal to provide the best possible service to keep the people of Greater Manchester safe.
“This is robust, partnership-led neighbourhood policing that builds on the Safe4Summer action, which saw crime drop across the board due to the hard work of officers across our ten districts.
“The Winter period is a time for families and friends to come together and enjoy themselves without the risk of having issues from those who look to cause harm and anti-social behaviour.
“It is those people that can expect a knock on the door from us, whether it’s a polite word of advice or a new pair of handcuffs for Christmas, we simply won’t tolerate crime or anti-social behaviour in our communities.”