Two Bolton problem-solving initiatives honoured with prestigious awards nominations

The Tilley Awards took place earlier this week and Greater Manchester Police was honoured with two finalists at the ceremony, which celebrates problem solving in UK policing.

The winner on the night was Operation Vulcan, which you can read about here: The team who shut down counterfeit street win prestigious national policing award | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk) 

However, GMP’s other finalist was a Bolton-based initiative to tackle knife-point robberies within a small residential estate on the brink of the town centre.

The project sought to address a spike of knife-point robberies within a small residential estate consisting of 38 social housing properties.

The work around the Dingle Walk / Bryn Walk estate saw environmental improvements made to the area which had problems with robberies affecting those leaving nights out.

Tactics included a partnership approach to successfully apply for a public safety protection order, and making changes such as improving lighting, providing new fencing, and alley gates.

The greatest improvement made concerned the concept of police engagement in the area. A determined effort from the beginning of the project has seen significant improvements in relations as a result of the work completed.

Overall, the project resulted in a 72 per cent reduction in robberies.

The work, a district-led problem solving initiative to crack down on local issues has seen praise from residents who have spent years living in the area and have seen a significant difference to their lives. You can listen to the residents in a video here.

Another Bolton-based scheme, which was shortlisted but just missed out on the top five, was Operation Overspill.

It was created in May 2022 to ensure the safety of Bolton’s night-time economy in response to persistent issues in the town centre.

The operation, which includes the increase of highly visible police officers in and around hotspot areas has resulted in nearly 50 arrests for a wide range of crime, including drunk and disorderly, assault, robbery, theft, sexual assault, threats to kill, criminal damage and racially aggravated public disorder.

The operation has also resulted in 12 dispersal notices being issued to remove groups from the town centre whose behaviour has or is likely to result in harm to members of the public.

It has also played a large part in the reduction of certain crime types, for example, Bolton’s town centre has seen a 67% reduction in spiking offences and a 59% reduction in robbery.

Alongside our partners, Bolton Council, thorough licensing training has been delivered to staff to ensure they are fully briefed on safeguarding, search powers, Challenge 25, and counter terrorism initiatives.

Chief Inspector Justine Topping, of GMP Bolton’s Neighbourhood and Partnerships team, said: “Keeping people safe as they enjoy themselves in Bolton is of great importance to both Greater Manchester Police and Bolton Council.

“We are really invested in this operation to prevent and reduce crime in the town centre at night and, as a result, we have made a good number of arrests and made some really positive changes which will inevitably help us serve the public in the best way we can.

“We continue to promote this operation to ensure long term benefits are seen in Bolton in the near future.”