Treacle trap cuts crime

OPERATION Treacle, a crackdown on crime and anti-social behaviour in Oldham at Hallowe’en and bonfire night, was a sweet success.

There was a 10 per cent reduction on trouble compared with last year.

Police joined forces with firefighters, Trading Standards, the Health and Safety Executive, councils, transport bosses and Chambers of Commerce.

It was an initiative designed to tackle anti-social behaviour and reduce firework injuries, and to reassure the public that such actions won’t be tolerated.

Extra patrols went out to respond to firework-related incidents and hot-spot areas.

There were 164 reported firework incidents, 10 per cent down on last year, and 1,165 fireworks were seized by police and trading standards.

Officers visited retailers to remind them of their responsibilities and inspected firework stocks, and 14 retailers signed up to Good Guy, the responsible retailer scheme.

More than 20,000 firework safety leaflets were given out to school pupils warning youngsters about the dangers of messing about with fireworks.

Supt Stuart Goodwin said: “The success of Treacle is due to a number of factors including the early planning undertaken by all agencies involved and the lessons learned from last year.

“We undertook a number of high-profile operations to curb the predicted rise in anti-social behaviour and criminal damage and these have provided some excellent results.”