Greater Manchester Police has launched a new crime and intelligence reporting campaign aimed at increasing the amount of information reported to the police.
The ‘Their crime your call’ campaign will attempt to increase the amount of information reported to the police by encouraging people to be more forthcoming with anything they may believe to be suspicious. The campaign will also seek to inform people of all the methods available to them to report crime.
Last August three brothers were jailed for a total of over nine years for supplying drugs – including class A – in the Hattersley area of Tameside. The investigation into the activities of the brothers was aided by information reported to the police by the public. At the time, Detective Inspector Andy Sandiford said: “We are committed to tackling organised criminality that impacts on our communities. I would like to thank the people of Tameside who continue to provide us with information in order to help in our fight against organised crime.”
Last October, a member of the public found a memory card whilst traveling on a bus in Eccles and took it home to try and identify an owner to send the card back to. When the card was plugged into the finder’s home laptop, it contained a large number of indecent images of children on it.
The police were contacted immediately and officers were able to trace the card back to an address in Higher Broughton where a 50-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of possession of indecent images of children.
Further searches of technological devices kept at the address found even more indecent images. The man was charged and remanded into custody.
Although the new year is in its infancy, 2015 has already seen an investigation launched after a member of the public made a significant find.
On Saturday, January 10, 2015, a member of the public called police to say he had found a number of firearms on Bowker Bank Avenue in Crumpsall. Officers attended and discovered four shotguns, a semi-automatic rifle and live ammunition had been concealed in bags. The firearms were recovered for forensic analysis and an investigation is currently underway. Early analysis has determined that the weapons had been there for some time and they cannot be used or reactivated.
To report crime and intelligence information to police, in case of emergency – a crime in progress or an immediate threat to life or property – 999 is available. For non-emergency calls – this may be information about a current investigation or a crime that you know has happened – then 101 and the charity Crimestoppers are available.
As well as the aforementioned phone lines, anybody who may wish to speak to an officer face to face then they can visit their local public enquiry desk.
For anybody who has intelligence they wish to report to the police – this could be about illegal activities they believe to be on-going or know have happened – then, as well as the previously mentioned methods, they can visit the intelligence reporting page on the GMP website or app.
Detective Superintendent Mark Smith, Greater Manchester Police’s Director of Intelligence said: “Crime and intelligence reports that come from the public form a very large part of the information that GMP receives on a daily basis.
“The public, not just in Greater Manchester but in other areas of the UK, are fantastic at coming forward with information which they believe that can help GMP and I can’t stress enough how much we appreciate their assistance. I would like to not only encourage people to keep coming forward with information about crimes they know have happened or are happening but to also come forward and report anything suspicious that they know.
“This could be a crime they have heard is being planned, potential scams that are on-going, suspicious behaviour they may have seen, previous incidents which they have heard about or even an example of somebody living far beyond their means. Anybody who does come forward with information be it crime related or intelligence will receive the full backing of Greater Manchester Police and provide support from specially trained officers to deal with any problems or threats they may be worried about.
“We have got a number of methods that people can use to make reports depending on how they feel comfortable, whether that be in person, over the phone, online or Crimestoppers which works completely independent from the police and allows people to report anonymously.
“Coming forward with information can make communities a much safer place to live and work so again I would like to encourage people to keep coming forward with information, even if they are not sure if it is information we may be seeking.”
A common misconception that many people have is that Crimestoppers is an organisation linked to the police and they may take some details, however this is not the case.
Crimestoppers is a national charity that is run independently from the police and offers complete anonymity to anyone who contacts them. No contact details are left by the caller and the phone number does not even appear on their phone bill. The information is then passed on to the relevant police force. In over 26 years of operating, Crimestoppers have never revealed the identity of anybody who has called them.
Gary Murray, the Crimestoppers North West Regional Manager said: “The independent charity Crimestoppers give the public a totally anonymous way to pass on information about crime either by phone or online. In 26 years we have never revealed the identity of anyone who has contacted and we would encourage the public to help make their community safer by contacting us and join us in the fight against crime.”
