Treacle helps cut anti-social behaviour

Superintendent Martin Greenhalgh and Sergeants Lee Moriarty and Craig Adams

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Police with the help of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Rochdale Borough Council have this year reduced crime and anti-social behaviour by 27 per cent across Rochdale.

It comes following the conclusion of Treacle, a partnership initiative to successfully reduce the impact of Halloween and bonfire night for the people across the borough.

Inspector Michelle Hughes for Rochdale South Neighbourhood Policing Team said: “The Halloween and bonfire night period is a challenging time for police and our colleagues at the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Rochdale Borough Council but by working together we have been able to bring down our figures for crime and anti-social behaviour during this time across the Borough.

“Our figures show that the work we have done as part of Treacle has created this success.

“It’s great to see that our communities have listened to our advice on safety and that the operations we had in place to tackle any problems associated with anti-social behaviour and criminal damage were effective.”

This is the third year that the members of the Treacle partnership have worked on a number of initiatives to successfully reduce the impact of Halloween and bonfire night for the people across Rochdale borough.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service also reported a nine per cent reduction in firework-related incidents.

Pete Stevenson, Rochdale Borough Commander for GMFRS said: “This is excellent news for the people of Rochdale.

“Working with our partner agencies in a variety of initiatives, such as the Fireworks Amnesty, has helped reduce the impact of bonfires and fireworks have on our communities, which is a very positive result – but we have still seen a small, but potentially life changing number of incidents where people have been injured by fireworks and we are determined to use what we have learned this year to improve for next years partnership.”

Councillor Ted Flynn, cabinet member for Rochdale Borough Council, said: “The impressive reduction in anti-social behaviour during Halloween and bonfire night is thanks to all the hard work and effort of the council, police and partners to make sure that the celebrations could be enjoyed safely.

“Checks took place with our responsible retailers to make sure that only fireworks that meet British Safety Standards were sold locally and to people over 18.

“I was impressed by the wide range of well organised bonfires and firework displays taking place across the borough which meant that more people could have a safe and enjoyable time.”