Operation Venture: 642 arrests and 181 weapons seized by knife crime team

Since their formation in December 2022, Operation Venture, our dedicated team for cracking down on violence, particularly focussed on knife crime, have made a significant dent in criminality across the force area.

They’ve made 642 arrests, recovered 181 weapons and removed them from the streets, seized 113 vehicles and over £250,000 cash, recovered over £80,000 worth of drugs, and conducted 661 positive, proactive stop and searches on key offenders up to 31 July 2024.

The team move across different hotspot areas all over Greater Manchester, strengthening resources in districts to tackle violent crime and proactively looking to prevent, deter, reduce, and tackle knife crime head on, and at the root causes.

Their work feeds into the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit, a multi-agency team that seeks to prevent violence by addressing the underlying causes.

The latest scheme our Op Venture team will be supporting is a national one led by the Home Office.

From 24 September 2024, tougher laws will come into place around the manufacture, supply, sale, possession and importation of zombie-style knives and machetes.

Launching on Monday 26 August 2024 will be a month-long surrender scheme leading up to the law change, where these types of knives can be handed into police stations across the UK and compensation may be claimed from the Home Office. The full terms and conditions of this scheme can be found on the Home Office website.

Our knife amnesty bins are open all year-round, and whilst some knives may not meet the criteria for compensation under this scheme, we encourage the surrender of any weapon into these bins. In January 2024, we crushed and recycled approximately 3,000 knives which had been recovered through the amnesty bins since 2020. Read more here.

The following 11 stations across Greater Manchester are designated points for the surrender of zombie knives from 26 August to 23 September:

• North Manchester – Central Park Police Station, Northampton Road, M40 5BQ
• Manchester Central & South – Longsight Police Station, Grindlow Street, M13 0LL
• Stockport – Cheadle Heath Police Station, Spectrum Way, ST3 0SA
• Trafford – Stretford Police Station, Talbot Road, Old Trafford, M32 0UX
• Salford – Swinton Police Station, Chorley Road, M27 6BA
• Wigan – Wigan Police Station, Robin Park Road, WN5 0UP
• Bolton – Bolton Police Station, Scholey Street, BL2 1HD
• Bury – Bury Police Station, Dunster Road, BL9 0RD
• Oldham – Oldham Police Station, Barn Street, OL1 1LR
• Rochdale – Rochdale Police Station, The Esplanade, OL16 1AG
• Tameside – Tameside Police Station, Manchester Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL7 0BQ

For additional detail and the form you have to fill out, click this link: Zombie-style knives and machetes surrender and compensation scheme | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk)

We continue to seize increasing numbers of knives through the surrender bins, proactive stop and search, weapon sweeps and arrests. Our team are unrelenting in their approach to taking dangerous weapons off the streets.

Superintendent Caroline Hemingway who leads GMP’s response to knife crime said: “I’m extremely proud of the work of our team and this new legislation will only help this further.

“In July 2024, we saw a 4% decrease in serious violent crime from June 2024.

“We remain committed and determined to ensure the impact of knife crime is tackled head on with robust policing and effective education.

“Prevention is prioritised, and we do a lot of work in schools and with health partners. It’s not just about policing our way out of the issue. What this scheme will do is give us the opportunity to take more knives off the streets, but potentially save lives.”

Kate Green, Deputy Mayor of policing, crime, criminal justice, and fire: “Officers from Operation Venture are proactively patrolling violence hotspots across Greater Manchester, taking knives off our streets and keeping people safe. Their work has had a huge impact in terms of reducing knife crime and the number of serious incidents that occur. The team are also making referrals into services across Greater Manchester that can support young people and their families and provide them with positive alternatives to violence and criminality, such as our Navigator service.

“Although the work of Operation Venture is undoubtedly effective in removing knives from our streets, we are keen to get upstream of the issue and prevent anyone in Greater Manchester from making the decision to carry a weapon in the first place. In December we launched the Greater than Violence strategy – a 10-year strategy to prevent and reduce knife crime. Key to this strategy is ensuring Greater Manchester becomes a trauma-responsive city-region, providing young people with positive opportunities for their futures and ensuring our approach to violence prevention and reduction is led by our communities. By implementing the commitments outlined in the strategy we will improve lives by preventing violence and providing alternatives to those at risk of becoming victims, witnesses, or perpetrators, including education programmes, community sports, targeted mentoring, and therapeutic support.”

We all have a part to play in fighting, preventing, and reducing knife crime. If you know or suspect someone is carrying a knife, please report it immediately. Greater Manchester Police can be contacted via gmp.police.uk or 101. In an emergency, always dial 999.

Anonymous reports can be made via the independent charity – Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Whilst 11-17-year-olds can make anonymous reports via Fearless.org