Police cut crime in Heywood

‘Operation Sleeve’ saw 20 people arrested for offences ranging from supply or possession of drugs, burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and copyright offences.

In addition, police seized live ammunition, two CS gas canisters, Class A, B and C drugs, copyright recording equipment, around 10,000 pirate DVDs and suspected stolen electrical equipment.

Operation Sleeve was launched in a bid to tackle burglary on the Angel Meadows estate and officers executed nine warrants under the Misuse of Drugs Act, targeting both drug dealers and addicts committing burglary to support their habits.

Due to high-profile and covert police work, officers recorded a 60 per cent drop in burglary for the period 10 to 29 January 2007 compared with figures for the same period in 2006.

A recent crime survey in Heywood revealed that, in line with national data, a third of domestic burglary occured as a result of an insecure door or window.  Therefore, to support the operation, police community support officers (PCSOs) delivered crime prevention leaflets to households and carried out over 200 crime prevention surveys with residents. As well as bringing down burglary in Heywood, police reduced vehicle crime by 24 per cent and total crime by three per cent.

They also carried out checks on licensed premises, alcohol enforcement patrols, over 30 stop searches and truancy sweeps, and used automated number plate recognition (ANPR) to seize 16 stolen, uninsured or untaxed vehicles. Meanwhile, plain-clothes officers patrolled Heywood in unmarked cars to deal swiftly with any robbery incidents.

Inspector Darrell Butterworth of Rochdale police said: “We are delighted with the success of this operation, and through initiatives like this we can reassure the public that we are committed to taking criminals off the streets of Heywood and making the area a safer place.

“We are also sending out a clear message to offenders that they will be targeted no matter what kind of crime they’re engaged in and we will continue to use high-profile and covert policing to disrupt their activities.”

Andy Glover of Rochdale Trading Standards said: “The huge haul of illegal DVDs recovered was a significant find for us.  Money from piracy is often used to fund crime, and so we may have prevented a great deal of future criminal activity.

“People need to be reminded that piracy is a criminal offence, and we will continue to work with police to prosecute anyone involved in this illegal activity.”

Commenting on ‘Operation Sleeve’, Heywood Councillor Peter Rush said: “I am delighted to see the police working with the Council to clean up Heywood.  I also praise the ‘reduction’ in crime, this is just the type of activity that will reassure Heywood residents and it is something I would like to see significantly more of.  I still however have concerns, especially with our part time police station and will continue the fight to increase opening hours and the number of officers on the beat in Heywood.  Yes, let’s celebrate the success of one operation, but we must not get carried away with these statistics.  This week at the Council meeting we are discussing all aspects of the campaign to fight crime in Heywood and the Borough as a whole.”