Project Servator continues to disrupt criminal activity in the City Centre as officers from around the globe observe GMP’s best practice

On Thursday 1 June 2023, officers from Greater Manchester Police’s Town Hall team were joined by their counterparts from warmer climates as part of their learning from the historic GMP training facility at Sedgley Park, along with representatives from the College of Policing.

Countries represented were Oman, Papa New Guinea, the Royal Soloman Islands and Tonga.

The officers got first-hand experience by GMP on the Project Servator deployments around St Peters Square and Piccadilly including the Tactical Mounted Unit to provide a sizeable presence around the packed streets of Manchester, including Deansgate.

They also visited the Mustard Tree, a key partner in GMP's work to help tackle homelessness and begging.

Project Servator aims to deter, detect and disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, while providing a reassuring presence for the public. With dedicated GMP officers being experienced and specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs that someone is planning or preparing to commit an act of crime.

Running in the City Centre for four years and at the Airport since 2018, it covers iconic sites and encompasses a raft of specific tactics adopted nationwide that is different to regular policing.

GMP’s City of Manchester Inspector Phil Marsh was only too happy to knowledge share with colleagues from further afield; “This kind of community engagement not only provides reassurance to people visiting our city, as well as local residents, but also gave officers from further afield and a completely different background the chance to see how we operate our Servator deployments in a highly populated area.

“These can happen anywhere and at any time as they are designed to be unpredictable. We have officers operating across the city centre and transport network, and deploy with key partners, including the British Transport Police.

“But it’s not just specially-trained officers that have a role to play in disrupting hostile reconnaissance, Project Servator also relies on us with the community to build a network of vigilance and our most recent deployment has only enhanced that.

“Some of our methods are highly visible with others covert, but if you see our officers, there's nothing to be concerned about. It's planned police activity and isn't linked to any specific intelligence about a threat to the area."

Trust your instincts and report any suspicious activity to a police officer or member of staff where you are. You can also call 101 or report online at gov.uk/ACT and through the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 787 321. Always dial 999 in an emergency.