Treacle gives yobs a sticky time...

AN OPERATION to crack down on crime and arson over Hallowe’en and Bonfire Night has been credited with saving taxpayers more than £1.3million.

Criminal damage, anti-social behaviour and call-outs to small fires were all down during the two-week period compared with last year.

It’s the third year running that Greater Manchester’s Operation Treacle Partnership has worked on a variety of initiatives which have successfully reduced crime.

Results reveal that across the area criminal damage was down 22.7 per cent (417 fewer incidents) and the number of call-outs to small fires in the open was reduced by 40.5 per cent (482 fewer incidents).

There was also an 8.9 per cent reduction in anti-social behaviour (763 fewer incidents) and arson was 4.4 per cent lower (six fewer incidents).

Firefighters also reported a 9 per cent reduction in firework-related incidents.

Assistant County Fire Officer Jim Owen said: “This is excellent news for the people of Greater Manchester.

“Working with our partner agencies has helped reduce the impact of bonfires and fireworks have on our communities.

“But we have still seen a small, but potentially life-changing number of incidents where people have been injured by fireworks and we are determined to use what we have learned this year to improve.”

GMP Chief Supt Jon Rush said: “The figures prove that Treacle was a success, thanks to early planning and the lessons learned from last year.

“The joint marketing campaign was extremely effective and shows that people have listened to our safety messages. We undertook a number of high-profile operations to curb the predicted rise in anti-social behaviour which also proved successful.”

Graeme Levy, from Trading Standards, said: “The Treacle Partnership has meant closer working on the ground and that makes a real difference to communities.”

The £1.3million saving has been calculated by adding the cost each incident would incur.