Five months of Operation Venture tackling serious violence in Greater Manchester sees 175 arrests and 54 weapons seized

Operation Venture – Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) serious violence and knife crime team had another busy month in May 2023 tackling the issue of serious violence across Greater Manchester.

The total number of arrests the team have made since they were launched in December 2022 now stands at 175. The team have also carried out over 200 stop-searches where action was taken against an offender.

Since December, the team have also seized 54 weapons – each one accounting for one less weapon on the streets and in the hands of someone who could have potentially used it with tragic consequences.

A brilliant seizure was made on the last day of the month (31 May) when, following reports of violence in the Hulme area of Manchester, Operation Venture officers were deployed alongside district officers, XG patrols and Tactical Aid Unit. A total of 15 people were arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of bladed articles and 7 knives were recovered.

To disrupt the supply of weapons reaching the streets of Greater Manchester, Operation Venture has also carried out over 114 weapons sweeps where officers look to find and seize hidden or discarded weapons.

As well as making arrests and seizures the team are also working hard to build the intelligence picture around violence crime hotspots in Greater Manchester and have made 253 intelligence reports to map this geographically. The team are intelligence led and data such as this therefore determines where they are sent in order to support the communities that need the most help.

Operation Venture also supports the work of the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) – a multi-agency team that seeks to prevent violence by addressing the underlying causes. A key part of the work of the VRU involves educating those who might be at risk of re-offending and as a result of this the VRU commission and support a number of education programmes.

Sergeant Mohammed Waqas of Operation Venture said: “May was another positive month for the team and I feel like we are making a difference in our communities. People in local communities are starting to recognise the team on patrol and will tell us about incidents in their area.

“This is exactly what we want from our communities as the information they provide is crucial to telling us where we need to go.

“Operation Venture is here for the duration and will continue tackling serious violence by making arrests and seizing weapons. However, we also seek to make referrals into partnership schemes where we can - to re-direct young and first-time offenders into community projects and educate them so that they make better choices. Since December 2022 we have made 67 of these referrals supported by our partners in the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit.”

“There’s no one solution to preventing serious violence and we do need the public to do their bit as well. I would urge anyone to conversations with young people that they know about the dangers of knife crime. And if you know that someone is carrying a weapon, you can help them surrender it by dropping it off at one of the Forever Amnesty bins that are located in police stations around the force.

“If someone refuses to surrender a weapon, you must report it to the police so we can act on it. No good can come from carrying a weapon and reporting it could save a life.”