Police, partners and the community come together to discuss plans for the next phase of the Clear Hold Build approach to tackling serious organised crime in Bury

Yesterday (Thursday 20 July 2023) saw detectives and officers from GMP's Bury division meet with partners and members of the community at Café on the Green in Clarence Park - the heart of Moorside - to discuss the Force's initiative, Op Revoke.

Police, partners and the community come together

Op Revoke has seen Bury's Challenger and Revoke Teams working with Force and Regional resources to good effect, to take down organised criminals at pace.

Since Op Revoke launched in May this year, 61 people have been arrested, over 100 SOC disruptions recorded and over half a million pounds worth of class A and B drugs seized.

The Home Office Initiative Clear Hold Build is based on three phases:

Clear phase: Design and deliver interventions that target OCG members, their networks, business interests, criminality and spheres of influence using all available criminal, civil and regulatory powers to disrupt them by inhibiting their ability to operate.  

Hold phase: Design and deliver interventions, counter- measures and contingency plans to consolidate and stabilise the initial ‘clear’ phase.  

Build phase: Design and deliver a single, whole-system approach to delivering community empowered interventions that tackle drivers of crime, exploitation of vulnerabilities and geographic locations / hotspots where harm manifests.  

The Induction Day in full swing

Detective Chief Inspector, John Charlton said: "The results we have seen since Op Revoke launched, have been outstanding, but we need to keep the pressure on the criminals with the support of the community and our partners to keep making Moorside safer.

"Yesterday's induction event is the next step on the Op Revoke journey and one we will repeat to capture the views of wider stakeholders.

"We have identified Moorside as the target for Revoke, based on the threat posed by serious organised crime in the area. But we need to hear from the community and work with them to tackle the less obvious signs of criminality which are influenced by organised criminals.

“We know about the obvious signs and are hitting them hard but things like shops selling illegal vapes or laughing gas and young people congregating to use them and cause anti-social behaviour, are all linked and we need the community and partners to work with us to tackle this and other trickle-down signs of SOC.

Councillor Richard Gold, Cabinet Member for Finance and Communities, said: “Our communities can play a crucial role in the fight against organised crime and also the lower-level anti-social behaviour which is often a sign of something more serious.

"We can achieve so much more when everyone works together – local residents, the police, businesses and public services.”

District Commander Chris Hill said: "I am really proud to be the Chief Superintendent for Bury, my officers work tirelessly to ensure that Bury is and remains a safe and attractive community, for you to live and work within.

"Operation Revoke goes beyond tackling the reactive crimes which we do on a daily basis but seeks to understand and disrupt the activities of Organised Crimes groups who pro-actively disrupt and harm our communities.

"The Operation Revoke team along with the local community and our Partner agencies will work together in order to bring the fight back to the criminals to make our streets safer for the future."