Crackdown on anti-social behaviour across Bury with Operation Saturn launch

Yesterday (Monday 8 November) officers from GMP's Bury Neighbourhood Policing Team, alongside Bury community safety partners and other agencies launched Operation Saturn - a multi-agency proactive response aimed at tackling anti-social behaviour and other crimes across the district.

The launch follows a recent increase in anti-social behaviour and crime involving young people across the district, including a series of knife point robberies in Bury town centre and a violent disorder at Radcliffe Metrolink station last month, both of which resulted in arrests.

The high-visibility operation will see neighbourhood and specialist officers working closely alongside partners and community stakeholders including youth services and TFGM staff to target specific hotspot areas of ASB & crime across the district.

The operation launched yesterday on the Central Neighbourhood and focused on Bury town centre, Bury East, Redvales and Moorside areas including the Bury transport interchange.

Chief Superintendent Chris Hill of GMP's Bury District said: "Operation Saturn is about getting back to basics and working with partners and communities in the right place and the right time to really make a difference.

"This is about high visibility and getting officers out onto the streets to listen to what our communities have to say and to help provide that protective and reassuring presence. It's also about sending a message to offenders that GMP is here and we will take action wherever it's needed to bring this type of offending right down.

"Yesterday's launch was a really positive step in our commitment to protecting our community and I very much look forward to seeing how this develops and improves over time."

Chief Inspector Jamie Collins of GMP's Bury district said: "The feedback from the Bury communities is that they don’t see enough neighbourhood officers policing there areas."

"Operation Saturn is about putting high visibility uniformed officers into the areas of concern and is just one of the positive steps forward in our pledge to prevent and reduce crime, harm and ASB.

"This operation goes back to the basics of policing and focuses on the importance of high-visibility patrols on our streets and ensuring we are engaging with members of the community, to both understand their concerns for the area and also offer advice and tips of how best to stay keep safe from harm.

"Our communities expect to see us on foot across the district and in their neighbourhoods and we are committed to making this a normality and making our Borough a safe and welcoming place to live."

Bury Council’s cabinet member for communities Councillor Richard Gold said: "We know there have been increasing concerns from residents about anti-social behaviour and it's important that residents feel safe and secure when they're out and about and in their own homes. This initiative is great because will help to target those hot spot locations, and with lots of visible officers, will help in the overall fight against anti-social behaviour.

"Seeing more police out on the streets is definitely the way forward and very much helps with community reassurance and I look forward to seeing regular repeat operations of this kind in the area."