Successful operations to combat burglary and robbery

Date published: 11/01/2007

Police in Rochdale have struck a blow against criminals in the borough after carrying out two successful operations to combat burglary and robbery.

Operation Flemmish, which tackles burglary, and Operation Savoury, which deals with robbery, were launched in December as a two-pronged offensive against crime in the run up to Christmas.

High profile patrols and stop and search tactics were used in burglary hotspots as a deterrent, and plain-clothes officers conducted bail checks and arrested outstanding offenders.  

Through Operation Flemmish, police arrested 15 people and managed to reduce the number of break-ins in December 2006 by nearly 20 per cent compared to figures for November 2006.

Police also stopped over 100 people as part of the operation, some of whom were searched.  

In relation to robbery, officers targeted Rochdale Town Centre, Falinge and Freehold.

Thanks to increased police presence and the targeting of known offenders, officers managed to reduce the number of robberies in December 2006 by nearly 40 per cent compared with November 2006.

Inspector David Shepherd of Rochdale police said: "The success of these two operations should reassure the public that we’re getting to grips with crime.

"Thanks to the hard work of our officers, there were fewer victims of burglary and robbery in the run up to Christmas. This is a credit to them, as we would expect the number of incidents to rise at that time of year due to households, businesses and members of the public carrying larger amounts of money.

"I would also like to thank the law-abiding members of the public who have provided us with intelligence to target offenders, and reassure them that we will continue to tackle the illegal drugs trade which is the root cause of so much burglary and robbery."

Anyone who has information about any crime should contact Crimestoppers on Freephone 0800 555 111.