New ‘seek and arrest’ team targets mobile criminals

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Greater Manchester Police has launched a new cross-divisional task force to target burglars, robbers and car thieves that move between areas of Manchester and Stockport to commit crime.

The Operation Mistral team consists of dedicated crime analysts, intelligence officers and senior investigation officers that deploy a range of specialist officers from the mounted, dog, tactical aid and roads policing units to support local policing teams in targeting prolific offenders.

The task force is based at Cheadle Heath police station and also includes a team of highly experienced crime investigators that is working with forensics experts and the Crown Prosecution Service to maximise opportunities to bring offenders to justice. Crime reduction officers are also working as part of the team to help communities safeguard themselves from thieves.

Operation Mistral follows on from good practice developed through Operation Storm that resulted in a dramatic decrease in burglaries across the Force in the last eight months and led to almost 1,300 arrests in a Forcewide clampdown last week.

Police say a major factor in the success of Operation Storm was the information on criminal activity that the general public provided either directly to the police or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

Chief Superintendent Mark Granby who leads Operation Mistral said: “Criminals do not recognise geographical boundaries and neither does Mistral. We will be bringing a range of overt and covert tactics to bear on these people to gather the intelligence we need to locate, arrest and remove then from society.

“They will not be allowed to find any safe havens, or move off our radar. The whole of Greater Manchester will become a hostile environment to them where the only credible option will be to give themselves up.

“People can help us in this by giving us information on criminal activity either directly on 0161 872 50 50 or anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Please remember that even the smallest suspicion relayed to us could be that vital piece of the jigsaw that we need to launch a successful conviction.

“Offenders should be aware that the gloves are off and we are coming to get them. Communities can be assured that we will rid them of these parasites”.