Greater Manchester Police and partners come together to disrupt serious organised crime

On Wednesday 22 May, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) came together with other regional forces and wider partners to learn best practice approaches to tackling serious organised crime (SOC).

The event was hosted by the University of Huddersfield and sponsored by GMP in collaboration with West Yorkshire Police, South Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Police, Cumbria Police and Merseyside Police.

Special guest speakers also in attendance were the Deputy Mayor for Greater Manchester Combined Authority Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for West Yorkshire Combined Authority Alison Lowe, Assistant Chief Constable Carl Galvin from West Yorkshire Police, and officers from regional forces including GMP, West Yorkshire Merseyside, Lancashire, Cumbria and North West Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Representatives from St. Giles Trust were also invited to speak about the charity's work in helping young people, particularly women and girls, who have been exploited by criminals. 

There was also an academic input from the University of Huddersfield’s National Police Doctoral Foundation which highlighted the importance of evidence based policing in tackling SOC. 

Detective Chief Inspector Claire McGuire of GMP’s Operation Challenger said: “I lead Operation Challenger which is GMP’s partnership response to serious organised crime. We recognise that working in partnership is key to supporting and protecting communities and I am pleased this groundbreaking event was attended by so many colleagues and partners. It shows the dedication at all levels and the importance of the issue.

“The purpose of the event was to increase collaboration across the Northwest in how we tackle SOC, raise awareness of the risks, challenge our thinking, and identify best practice and opportunities to learn from one another.

“Serious organised crime manifests itself in different ways across the country, but it all comes from the same source. It often lies in our neighbourhoods and is utterly devastating. It tears apart communities and families and destroys lives; it is the drug dealing on our streets; the misery caused by addiction; the children who go missing again and again; the fights and violence.

“Organised crime is relentless, and we need a robust and co-ordinated response to dismantle the threat. The discussions had today are a starting point and have delved into some of the best operations taking place.

“Serious organised crime is however not a problem we can arrest our way out of. We need partners, the public, the private and volunteering sector, as well as communities to work with the police, report the crime you see and speak out when you believe someone is in trouble or needs help.”

Kate Green, Greater Manchester’s Deputy Mayor for policing, crime, criminal justice and fire, said: “Organised crime groups are determined, ruthless and focused, which means we need the very best from policing to be able to tackle the challenges that serious organised crime present, effectively targeting, disrupting and dismantling these groups and the threats they pose. 

“Our neighbourhood policing teams are key to this – they are direct conduits between local communities and the police, they see the manifestation of serious and organised crime and its impact, and they have the relationships to take a problem-solving approach to tackling the issue as early as possible. 

“But it’s not just about policing – we must work collaboratively with other agencies and with communities themselves to ensure we are using all the means at our disposal to tackle serious organised crime and its causes. In Greater Manchester, we are doing that through Programme Challenger, which brings together all the different partners who are working to disrupt and dismantle the individuals and networks committing serious crime.”

Dr John Synnott, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the University’s National Police Doctoral College at the University of Huddersfield said: “The University of Huddersfield was proud to support this event in collaboration with GMP. As the Director of the University’s National Police Doctoral College, one of our aims to promote the role that research can have, not just on strategic decision making within senior policing ranks, but the role research can play on the front line, for those who are working within communities. I think this event struck a nice balance between showcasing the impact research can have as well as providing a platform for police to demonstrate the innovative work they are doing themselves.“

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