Crime tumbles 13 per cent

CRIME levels in Oldham have dropped by 13 per cent with burglary, robbery and car crime seeing the biggest reductions.

A new report by Greater Manchester Police says robberies dropped by 33.9 per cent between April and June.

Car crime is down 30.6 per cent and burglary has fallen by more than a fifth.

There has also been a reduction in the amount of anti-social behaviour, with 495 fewer incidents from April to June compared with the same period last year.

Councillor Rod Blyth, Oldham Council’s Cabinet Member for community safety and public protection, said: “I’m particularly pleased to see in these figures that incidents of anti-social behaviour are coming down. This is one of the main issues residents tell us affects their quality of life, whether it be drinking on the streets or graffiti.

“In response the police, the council and our partners have made tackling anti-social behaviour a priority, and it’s clearly working.”

A number of initiatives and operations have taken place over the past few months which have helped contribute to the reductions.

Operation Gateway saw officers from the Challenge and Support Team board buses in Lees, Greenfield and Uppermill and along Ashton Road to tackle anti-social behaviour.

More than 1,000 passengers were spoken to about their behaviour and one arrest was made.

Officers also seized 39 litres of alcohol and 48 cans of lager from underage teenagers.

Supt Chris Sykes said: “We could not do the job that we do without the assistance of local residents so I’d like to thank them for their support.

“By following crime prevention advice and reporting suspicious incidents they have helped us in our fight against crime and I would urge residents to continue to do this so that we can make the streets even safer.”