Operation AVRO delivers high-impact policing outcomes across Salford

High-visibility, proactive police work took place across the region of Salford yesterday (Wednesday 19 July 2023) as part of Operation AVRO.

Starting out with an early morning briefing in The Lady Hale Building at the University of Salford, weapons and drugs warrants were carried out during a large-scale deployment beginning at 5.30am.

Officers in Salford made a total of 33 arrests yesterday for a range of offences including drug supply and criminal damage as part of Operation AVRO, the monthly GMP initiative that sees officers take the fight back to the criminals, providing high-visibility controls and engaging with the community.

In conjunction with partner agencies, the Neighbourhood Teams visited 16 shops selling illegal vapes with 3,734 illegal vapes seized, which equates to £44,808 worth of products.

The estimated minimum profit lost was £22,404. Trading Standards are now utilising their powers against the illegal sale offenders.

The operation also saw officers identify 373 traffic offences being committed, including 239 speeding offences. In total, 16 vehicles were seized and four arrests were made.

In addition, the Commercial Vehicle Unit issued graduated fixed penalty notices to the value of £3,300 for weight and load offences and issued prohibitions of movement to five vehicles for being overweight.

As well as the raids, officers also held events within local communities, such as the Neighbourhood Beat Officers team providing high-visibility proactive patrols around hotspot locations including Eccles Recreation Ground, Abbeyfield and the Ellesmere Sports Club to tackle antisocial behaviour and the Tactical Mounted Unit out on patrols around Salford Quays.

In conjunction with partners from Salford City Council, five taxi operators were visited and issued with leaflets and posters in relation to vulnerability and county lines. There were 18 taxi stops and four vehicles taken off the road due to taxi licencing offences.

Elsewhere, officers joined forces with Paul McGovern MBE, to deliver an ‘Actions have Consequences’ session to pupils at Holy Family Primary School. Paul works within the Prison Community Team which engages with children in local schools to break the cycle of children being peer pressured into local crime gangs and subsequently being imprisoned when they are adults.

The aim of the Actions Have Consequences programme is to break down barriers between local children, their teachers, local neighbourhood policing teams, school-based officers and the youth offending team. 

Paul was joined by GMP School Engagement Officers and Lauren Roberts, Prevention Education Instructor from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service who delivered the Safe4Summer campaign, an annual partnership campaign which takes place over the summer months involving GMFRS, GMP, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, local councils, plus others – with the ultimate aim to keep young people safe.

GMP runs Operation AVRO from a different district within Greater Manchester each month, in a bid to tackle the communities’ top concerns.

Chief Superintendent Paul Coburn, from GMP’s Salford Division, said: “AVRO gave us an opportunity to provide reassurance to the Salford community, to deter offending and to get that community intelligence. 

"We had a wide range of staff from various branches and districts, supporting us across a wide range of activities including traffic operations, Licensing and Trading Standards warrants and knife sweeps. 

"The idea is to make Salford a safer place and I must thank everyone for their efforts in helping us work towards that goal."

What is Operation AVRO?

Operation AVRO is a force wide initiative that delivers extra resources and specialist officers to a different district within Greater Manchester each month and launched in Salford in October 2021.

Since then, it has travelled around the force with the operation targeting crimes and concerns that members of the public in that district have told GMP give them the most concern.

For more information, visit: Operation AVRO | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk)