Stockport operation tackling town centre crime sees 100+ charges over last year

Officers in Stockport have produced a range of positive results over the last year in an operation aimed at cracking down on criminality in the town centre – seeing more than one hundred charges.

Multiple officers, PCSO’s and local partners have deployed regularly to the area over the last year as part of the local team’s Operation Rimini – dedicated work tackling retail crime, anti-social behaviour, and reports of burglaries and violent offences.

The most recent day of action in June saw three people arrested by the end of the day, on suspicion of offences including being wanted on recall to prison, shoplifting / theft, and possession of a bladed article.

Several stop-searches were carried out, four of which were positive and resulted in the discovery of a knife, stolen property, and two balaclavas.

That day’s action was the ‘season finale’ for Rimini, with the operation having seen countless positive results, marking 12 months of ASB-busting work by local officers.

Across the 23/24 ‘season’, officers made 49 arrests, secured over 100 charges - 124 in total - with a further 37 retail banning orders and three criminal behaviour orders issued to offenders in the area.

Officers work with security from nearby stores and centres while actively patrolling known hotspots. This includes using the store net radio, which links store staff immediately to officers on patrol and has seen the apprehension of a number of shoplifters.

Chief Inspector John Picton, from GMP’s Stockport district, said: “Anti-social behaviour is a blight on people’s lives and can cause issues in anywhere from town centres to rural beauty spots. Once we identified issues in Stockport, we set up this operation to provide a regular policing presence across multiple days of the year – reminding criminals that we are here and they will never be tolerated.

“We continue to work very closely with stores and the shopping centres within Stockport town centre, to create and build upon relationships with management. This includes sharing best practices, identifying known offenders together and sharing appropriate material to combat crime.

“These operations will continue as we seek to tackle crime across Stockport town centre and the wider area. The hundred plus charges and dozens of arrests has meant we have been able to show criminals our unwavering commitment to protecting stores, workers, and visitors alike.

“We are always keen to hear from the public and would urge anyone with information about criminality to get in touch with us. You can do this by chatting to an officer on patrol, calling 101, or contacting Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”