Neighbourhood Policing: New inspector takes over at Stockport Central team

Inspector John Barber has taken over from CI John Picton

It’s all change at the Stockport Central Neighbourhood Policing Team but the fight against crime remains unchecked.

Inspector John Barber took over at the start of the year from John Picton, who has moved up to chief inspector.

Insp Barber has been at GMP for 17 years having started his career as a PCSO at Greenheys in the Manchester district.

Neighbourhood policing is very much in his blood having also worked as a constable and a sergeant in Moss Side and Levenshulme.

Insp Barber said: “I have been working in response at Stockport for the past 18 months but I am from a neighbourhood policing background.

“I wanted a role with more of a neighbourhood focus where you get to see things to conclusion and get to see more of the results.

“Our priorities remain the same – to tackle anti-social behaviour and people on off-road bikes who blight society.

“Other priorities for this year will be tackling burglary and drug dealing.

“I will be getting out and about regularly with my officers, so we are more visible to the public.

“There is also a lot of work ongoing with partners to tackle ASB and other local issues.”

Stockport’s central team has 25 officers and backroom staff, and now has a direct channel to shops in the town centre to report crime.

In the past year, the team has put Operation Rimini into place that has resulted in 39 arrests and more than 100 charges and an undercover shoplifting operation.

Insp Barber added: “Shops can now report crime directly to officers via a separate and dedicated radio channel, which means we can deploy officers to crimes straight from the town centre base.

“The team has had a lot of success in 2023 with dedicated operations and that will be ramped up in 2024 as we target criminals and disrupt their activities.”

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