‘Thanks for making Freehold a place to feel proud to live in again’ - neighbourhood police initiative is bringing change to local community

GMP Rochdale and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) are working together to improve the lives of residents in the Freehold neighbourhood in Rochdale with innovative orders and increased funding.

In December 2023, we launched Operation Affect, a dedicated police and partnership response to tackling crime in the Freehold neighbourhood in Rochdale.

Over the years, several policing operations have targeted drugs, violence, anti-social behaviour and organised crime groups (OCGs) in the area, successfully convicting some high-profile offenders. Unfortunately, the void left by dismantling one OCG would create a revolving door of demand, giving room for another OCG to form. Operation Affect was our response to prevent this from happening again.

The initiative started with a covert operation, which saw police track offenders who were intent on causing harm to local residents through the use of violence, exploitation and drug dealing. Specialist police built a strong case, and over several months, we launched a relentless pursuit against those committing crime. Police executed 11 warrants, made 48 arrests, seized large quantities of drugs, cash and weapons, secured three closure orders on nuisance properties linked to drugs, and engaged with 1000s of residents.

The next phase, and perhaps the most important of all, was working with the local community and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing to find out exactly what the residents wanted from us, to ensure they feel safe and we worked with them to implement a policing patrol plan to make sure we were visible at all hours so that we could effectively and sustainably resolve the issues of crime and anti-social behaviour they were facing.

In November 2024, we implemented an Open Space Closure Order Zone, the first of its kind in Greater Manchester Police, which prohibited non-residents from congregating in stairwells, on landings, bridges and near bin chutes, and within open spaces attached to properties – all the issues which our community told us were affecting them the most.

As the closure order comes to an end, we have seen great success and received positive feedback from the community who have said ‘this is the best thing to happen around here in a long time’, ‘we definitely feel safer in the evenings’, ‘anti-social behaviour in general has decreased’, ‘thanks to you all for making Freehold a place to feel proud to live in again.’

Fortunately, the evidence shows us that due to the positive results of the initial three-month order, we do not need to reapply for the Open Space Closure Order Zone. But this does not mean that our operation has finished, and we are still present in the area.

Nationally, Operation Affect has been recognised for its tenacity and creative use of civil powers, injunctions, and robust partnership work to sustainably tackle embedded criminality by working with the community itself.

RBH have an ongoing programme of community activities, working with partner organisations including Culture Co-op and Rochdale Youth Service as well as GMP Rochdale. Upcoming events include DJ workshops, a hair masterclass, and winter community gatherings. Today (Wednesday 4 January) RBH organised a community clean-up day, working with Keep Britain Tidy and Rochdale Borough Council teams.

Design work continues for RBH's investment plans, which would improve security and access to homes, create better refuse and recycling facilities, and improve the visual appearance of the area.

Inspector Meena Yasin, who has been driving this initiative, said: “This operation has very much been community focussed and is the product of hours of interaction with local residents and partners, and represents what they want from their police force.

“Throughout this operation we have spoken to residents who have been unable to sleep at night, who were scared to carry out everyday activities within their own homes as a result of anti-social behaviour and the criminal activity of a small number of individuals exploiting the neighbourhood.

“I’m proud we could make this commitment to the community and my team and I look forward to future investment and improvements in the area.”

Hayley Stockham, RBH Director of Neighbourhood Services, said: “We have a zero tolerance approach to crime and anti-social behaviour, and I’m really proud of the work our team have done in Freehold alongside our partners in Greater Manchester Police. We have always said that we will only know we are making a difference when our customers tell us, and we know from talking to Freehold residents that this partnership work has already made a huge difference. We also know that this is just the first step - we will continue to work with the community here to make sure that Freehold is a place where everyone is proud to live and work.”

In case you missed it, we featured on The One Show last night, showing the partnership work we've been doing in Freehold - The One Show - 03/02/2025 - BBC iPlayer