Organised crime in Rochdale second highest in Greater Manchester

Rochdale has the second highest rate of organised crime in Greater Manchester a senior officer has warned.

Superintendent John-Paul Ruffle revealed the shock statistic to councillors during an update on an emerging ‘community safety plan’ which should come into force next year.

The district commander for Rochdale said there were 12 nationally recognised criminal organisations operating throughout the borough – as well as smaller groups which take the number closer to 25.

The majority are based around Rochdale, but they also exist in Heywood, Middleton and the Pennines.

Only north Manchester has a bigger problem with organised criminal networks within the city region, and Rochdale is also among the worst-hit areas in the whole of the north, he said.

Greater Manchester Police, Rochdale Council and partner safeguarding agencies work together under the Community Safety Partnership.

Organised crime is one of five priorities police want to concentrate on in Rochdale under the new plan.

“We can’t resolve all threats, we can mitigate some, but have to concentrate on a core number at a strategic level,” said Supt Ruffle, who explained how focusing on key areas can bring results.

He told councillors how, last year, an axe attack in which a tree surgeon’s hand was ‘cut off’ following an apparent road-rage incident, resulted in police uncovering a ‘significant organised crime group’ leading to the arrest of 12 people.

And that subsequently led to the arrest last week of 18 people as part of Operation Gallant. Police also recovered gold bullion, super cars, thousands in cash and a ‘massive drugs haul’.

“That is just one (gang) in a multitude of organised crime we have got,” said Supt Ruffle.

He added: “There were children as young as 11 being criminally exploited by that group to either move drugs about, look after drugs, take care of drugs, or haul drugs - and this is happening in front of us.”

As well as organised crime, the other four priorities identified by police are tackling child sexual exploitation, domestic abuse, substance abuse and town centre economies.

Superintendent Ruffle also painted a grim picture of the borough’s ‘massive’ problems with domestic abuse. 

Rochdale has one of the highest levels of domestic homicide in the north of England, while drug misuse is also said to be increasing ‘exponentially’, he added.

Police will also seek to protect town centre businesses, with Superintendent Ruffle saying that heart of the borough needs to be ‘the beacon that shines’.

He said: “The simple fact of the matter is we can’t resolve all threats. We can mitigate some, which is what we do but have to concentrate on a core number at a strategic level to make an impact.”

However, the priorities identified by the police do not tally with the concerns expressed by respondents to a council survey, who were worried about drug dealing, dangerous driving, vehicle crime and thefts.

Councillor Andy Kelly questioned why residents’ views had been sought ‘just to be ignored.’

Superintendent Ruffle said: “We’re not for one minute saying we’re not interested in the detection and prevention of crime - because we are - that’s a given, it’s underlying everything.

“So, irrespective of those priorities, ultimately we are here to make people feel safe.”

He explained that the surveys also brought to light issues that neighbourhood policing teams should be focusing their attention on, and helped them to better engage with the communities they serve.

But added: “Having said that it’s really important that  the public is aware and everyone is clear we have a number of strategic priorities we must address.”

Drug dealing is often top among the public’s concerns, but Supt Ruffle said addressing it in a piecemeal way was like playing ‘whack-a-mole’.

“Day-in, day-out we could be out there doing proactive work - what we’ve done this week is shut down an entire network.

“But unfortunately it’s harder for us to go and explain that to somebody whose street corner has a drug dealer on it - so we have to do both. One is tackling the local concern, the second is tackling the strategic threat.”

Councillor Kelly also asked what resources Rochdale was receiving from the wider region given the scale of organised crime.

Supt Ruffle said serious and organised crime branch is working on the problem in Rochdale, leading to multiple arrests, recovery of large amounts of drugs as well as the Xcalibur Task Force.

Work to secure extra funding is ongoing, however he conceded there was ‘still plenty more to be done’.

Rochdale’s new community safety plan is expected to be approved in April 2019 and will be in place until at least 2021.

It will replace the current three year plan, which was implemented in 2018.

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter