Officers across Greater Manchester have been tackling neighbourhood offences during national week of action

Operation Calibre is a national operation to tackle robbery offences, officers will be undertaking roles such as visits to vulnerable premises and being visible within hotspot locations throughout the community.

Operation Calibre was launched on Saturday 10 December 2022 and will continue until Saturday 17 December 2022.

Officers across the force have been visible in the communities across Greater Manchester on patrols of hotspot areas and arresting high priority offenders.

Superintendent Ian Jones, force lead for robbery, said “Personal robbery is such an impactive crime, it is important that these crimes are reported to us straight away so we can do something about it.

"We run numerous Operations throughout the year to ensure we are doing are very best to protect you and arresting those responsible for this despicable crime. Operation Calibre is intended to intensify our efforts, sharing Nationwide good practice to be ruthless in our approach in targeting those who try to ruin our communities by being involved in Robbery.

"That could be from committing offences, handling the stolen goods or even assisting the offenders.

To help us to help you please follow the below top 10 tips in order to keep yourself safe and to make it easier for us to re-unite any stolen items that we recover."

Chief Supt Emily Higham of GMP’s Wigan District and force lead for neighbourhood crime said: “GMP have gone a step further for the week of intensification and are extending the focus to all neighbourhood crimes, including vehicle related theft, domestic burglary, theft from the person and robbery of personal property.

“We have always been dedicated to tackling neighbourhood offences and this week of action provides us with a real opportunity to showcase the really good work that officers do on a day to day basis and provide preventative advice in and around the community to enable us to help people protect themselves and their property this season.”

“During this festive period, we will see the rise in robbery, not only personal robbery but also business premises being targeted.  It is important whilst you are out enjoying your Christmas shopping and festivities that you keep yourself safe, stay within lit areas and where there is a good footfall of people, keep your values such as your mobile phone out of sight and stay within your group of friends and family.  If you see anybody acting suspicious, then please report this.”

The ten rules of keeping safe when out and about 

1. Be aware of your surroundings, if you’re playing music or talking with headphones in, you can’t hear what’s going on around you making it harder to react quickly if something happens.
2. Thieves look for easy targets, for example, phones held away from your body and valuables on show, so keep them hidden in a secure bag or pocket where possible.
3. Stick to well-lit areas and busy streets, avoid shortcuts through unlit and deserted areas.
4. Track it. Consider installing a tracker app on your smartphone. They’re readily available online. If your mobile’s ever stolen, act promptly.
5. If you’ve been on a night out in the city, get a taxi or public transport home. Avoid walking on your own.
6. Never leave valuable items on the table of a restaurant or pub, especially outside. Thieves can snatch items in a blink of an eye.
7. There’s safety in numbers so stick with friends and plan ahead before going out, consider how you are going to get home. If you have to wait for public transport or a taxi, keep to well-lit areas with others around.
8. Be aware when using cash machines. If there are people loitering nearby or anyone tries to distract you or invade your personal space walk away.
9. Make a written note of your mobile phone’s IMEI number by dialling *#06#. If your phone is stolen, it can speed up the process of getting the phone blocked when reporting the number to your service provider. Consider registering any replacement phone on www.immobilise.com (free service and support by Police)
10. Remember, if a location doesn’t look or feel right then steer clear.

Finally – and this is so important to remember – if you’re threatened with violence, don’t risk your personal safety. Property can be replaced, you can’t.

Look out for each other and if you see anything suspicious, report it.

If you need to make a non-emergency crime report, call 101 or use our Live Chat service at www.gmp.police.uk

Always dial 999 in an emergency.