Shaw and Crompton Lib-Dems demand anti-social behaviour action from police
Date published: 08 May 2025
Crompton Lib-Dem Councillor Louie Hamblett
Shaw and Crompton Liberal-Democrats have written to the Greater Manchester Police Neighbourhood Inspector for the area to demand action and a meeting demanding why crimes, vandalism and anti-social behaviour (ASB) are seemingly going up and appear not to be being dealt with according to dozens of residents.
Crompton Lib-Dem Councillor Louie Hamblett wrote to Inspector Berry to ask: “Why is that crime such as ASB and people checking car or front door handles is clearly on the rise.
"Residents in both Shaw and Crompton Wards are fearful and rightly worried about the youths running rampant and we need some positive action from our police.
"Communities are being terrorised by people on quad bike/electric bikes and scrambler style bikes.
"Damage and vandalism are nearly a daily occurrence in places like Crompton Moor and our other green spaces, and parks like Dunwood."
Shaw Lib-Dem Councillor Howard Sykes added: “We all had a tax hike to pay more for the cops and yet we don’t see them about, my inbox is inundated in complaints about the rise in crimes.
"People often say it is a waste of time reporting issues, something I would urge people to always do.
"My colleagues have asked for a meeting to find out what police are going to do tackle this issue that is blighting our community.”
Responding, Chief Inspector Ian Partington, of GMP’s Oldham district, said: “In the period between January 2024 and May 2024 for anti-social behaviour, criminal damage, vehicle crime and residential burglary in both the Shaw and Crompton areas of Oldham, we recorded 652 crimes compared to 614 in the same period between January to May 2025.
"This means there are 38 fewer crimes compared to the six months the previous year.
“But these aren’t just statistics to us, this means there are 38 fewer victims of crime, but we know that there is still more work to do in our local neighbourhoods to reduce the crime that matters to local people even further.
"Hotspot policing occurs daily by neighbourhood police officers who are familiar with the needs of the local area. These patrols not only act as a deterrent to those conducting ASB in the area, but officers also to speak with and engage with those who have raised concerns.
“As a district, this week Oldham has seen the lowest burglary figures in the force and over the last 12 months, reported burglary offences have decreased, whilst arrests of offenders for burglary rose significantly by 9.6%, leading to a 10% solved rate for this type of offence.
"This is testament to the hard work from officers in the Neighbourhood Policing Team who are out day and night patrolling key hotspots and our Neighbourhood Crime Team who thoroughly investigate offences and take strong cases to court.
“Officers have successfully secured prosecutions for vehicle crime across the district.
"Resulting in numerous convictions and a number of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) to target those who are blighting the local community ensuring they are starved of the areas in which they operate and cause a persistent nuisance to people’s lives.
“As recently as Saturday 3 May, local officers along with our specialist unit colleagues were out specifically targeting the use of anti-social behaviour which has been enabled by e-bikes and these patrols and sustained action will continue.
"We had a significant amount of success during this operation including a number of these bikes being seized and their riders being reported for road traffic act offences such as no insurance, no licence and other driving offences, several arrests for drugs offences and multiple stop searches of suspicious individuals.
“Although we have teams of officers that are dedicated to reducing crime in your neighbourhood, we can’t do this alone, and we are continuing to urge the community to report any incidents or any suspicious behaviour to us, and as we have shown over the last couple of months, we will do all we can to apprehend those who feel as though they are above the law.”
Additional reporting by Ken Bennett.
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