Greater Manchester Police has announced a rebranding of its city centre task force as they bid to tackle major crime in Manchester post-lockdown.
The unit, which is made up of six PCs, is being reshaped as ‘Operation Orion’; building intelligence around high-level offences involving drugs and violence.
Covering the whole of the city centre, the operation pays special focus towards criminal hotspots such as Piccadilly Gardens, Northern Quarter and Back Piccadilly.
So far in 2020, the unit has successfully arrested over 100 offenders in the city – including a warrant which resulted in the recovery of spice manufacturing ingredients with potential street value of £14,300.
Operation Orion has also helped to lock away offenders for a combined total of 21.5 years.
Talking to The Manc about the rebrand, Inspector Jon Shilvock stated:
“I felt that [the unit] needed more of an identity so we could increase the awareness – both internally within the organisation, and externally so members of the public could understand our objectives.
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“Op Orion’s focus is on problem-solving in a covert fashion to reduce high-level crime – with ongoing investigations to build intelligence and cases.
“We also push for Criminal Behaviour Orders. If there are people bringing misery to the city, Op Orion will build the intelligence around them to try and secure a CBO – which will ban them from certain areas.
“It’s an ongoing battle to bring the criminals to justice.”
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The outbreak of coronavirus has forced many businesses and offices across Manchester to batten down the hatches as they temporarily vacated their premises, and some opportunist criminals seized the initiative to break into empty stores.
However, Operation Orion responded quickly to apprehend the culprits and the number of burglaries has rapidly reduced since March.
“There have been ongoing burglaries overnight of commercial premises, but we have had a significant level of arrests of people found on the premises or tracked down moments later because of proactive policing in the area,” explained Inspector Shilvock.
“With the lockdown, businesses shuttered up and were quite vulnerable, so we ensured there was 24-hour policing in the city.
“Whilst we saw a spike in burglaries at the start, we made several successful arrests, which has meant a lot of the known criminals are now in jail – and we have since seen a significant decrease as a result.
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“We arrested several who were known to prey on businesses and these people are now serving custodial sentences; in the end we saw a huge drop.”
Peter McDermott / Geograph
Drug offences in the city centre have remained prevalent even in lockdown, but Operation Orion has committed to finding figures at the top of the supply chain as well as those present on the streets.
Inspector Shilvock said: “Drug dealing has still been ongoing but has decreased slightly – you still get people coming into Manchester city centre to buy the drugs because that’s the area they previously bought from and it’s the area they’re familiar with.
“Our aim is to not only deal with the drug dealers but to go as far up as we can; this will reduce the supply in the city and reduce the ripple effects that it has on the economy, residents and the businesses in the area.”
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Operation Orion represents a significant move on the part of GMP to lower criminal activity, but Inspector Shilvock has also appealed to the public for help.
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“I must reiterate that people need to report everything they can to us,” the officer commented.
“If they report things, we can see a repeated trend or pattern and we can put something in place and Op Orion can counter this behaviour.
“Whether it’s 101 or 999, please call. If you’re worried about giving your name, please go through Crimestoppers where you can remain anonymous.
“With more information from the public, the more we can do.”
News
Ticket touting officially banned to protect fans from rip-offs
Daisy Jackson
The government has officially banned ticket touting, making it illegal for tickets to be resold at inflated prices.
The new measures will destroy the operating model of ticket touts, who snap up tickets for theatre, sport and live music, then sell them on the secondary value for far more than their face value.
Oftentimes, touts use automated bots to buy large volumes of tickets at once, taking them away from real fans.
The government says it’s caused misery for millions of fans and damaged the live events industry.
But now, the practice is being banned, with the government making it illegal to sell tickets above face value (plus unavoidable fees like service charges).
Resale platforms will also have their service fees capped, and they’ll have a legal duty to monitor and enforce compliance with the price cap.
Individuals will also be banned from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to buy in the initial ticket sale.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “For too long, ticket touts have ripped off fans, using bots to snap up batches of tickets and resell them at sky-high prices. They’ve become a shadow industry on resale sites, acting without consequence.
“This government is putting fans first. Our new proposals will shut down the touts’ racket and make world-class music, comedy, theatre and sport affordable for everyone.”
Business Secretary Peter Kyle added: “The UK is home to a brilliant range of music, entertainers and sporting stars – but when fans are shut out – it only benefits the touts. That’s why we’re taking these bold measures to smash their model to pieces and make sure more fans can enjoy their favourite stars at a fair price.”
Dan Smith, lead singer of Bastille – who have been part of the campaign against ticket touting – said: “It’s such great news that the government has stepped up and introduced a price cap on resale tickets – something I’ve been campaigning for alongside O2 and the FanFair Alliance for a long time.
“It’s a good step towards protecting music fans from being ripped off and will allow more genuine fans to see their favourite artists perform at face value prices. I am welcoming a world where there are no more resellers snapping up all of the tickets and massively inflating their prices.”
According to analysis by the CMA, typical mark-ups on secondary market tickets exceed 50%, whilst investigations by Trading Standards has uncovered evidence of tickets being resold for up to six times their original cost.
It’s believed these new measures against ticket touts could save fans around £112 million annually, freeing up around 900,000 more tickets from the primary ticket sellers each year.
The use of strategies like dynamic pricing has also been a major source of frustration for fans – such as the method used during the Oasis reunion on-sale – and new rules mean that fans must be given 24 hours notice of tiered pricing, plus provide clearer price information during online queues.
Industry voices who have weight in today include Mumford & Sons, who said that touts have ‘taken advantage of the good will and passion of music fans for many years’; Ed Sheeran’s manager Stuart Camp, who said the announcement is ‘long overdue’; and Coldplay manager Phil Harvey, who added that the legislation will be ‘a game-changer’.
Pop-up park and rides announced to manage ‘sheer volume’ of people travelling to Manchester city centre
Daisy Jackson
Four new pop-up park and rides will open in Greater Manchester from this week, to help people travelling into the city centre over the Christmas period.
Transport for Greater Manchester has announced the scheme will kick in to handle the ‘sheer volume’ of people heading into town for festive events and Christmas shopping, with around 80,000 extra trips made in one weekend alone last year.
The news comes after a weekend that saw car parks congested and the city streets gridlocked with traffic.
TfGM is now encouraging people to use public transport – including the new park and ride services – instead of driving this winter.
The four park and rides will provide an extra 1000 free parking spaces, with frequent bus shuttles then completing journeys into Manchester city centre.
Millions of people are expected to visit this year for events including the Manchester Christmas Markets, shopping, football matches, concerts and nights out.
The Bee Network is hoping to help all those people save cash, beat traffic, and keep the city centre moving.
Other measures being introduced this year, as part of a joint approach by TfGM, Manchester City Council and Greater Manchester Police (GMP), include later-running trams at weekends, temporary parking restrictions and traffic measures, and round-the-clock CCTV monitoring.
Trams will run until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays over the Christmas period, with extra double trams running at busy times.
Temporary weekend parking restrictions are being introduced on Swan Street and Liverpool Street, with weekend closures inbound on Corporation Street to reduce congestion around Shudehill, and a no right turn from the Arndale car park to ease congestion on Withy Grove.
The four new park and rides, with 1,000 extra parking spaces, will be open every Saturday and Sunday from this Saturday (22 November) until 21 December.
They’ll be located at Booth Street West, Central Park, Belle Vue and Irwell Place.
People are urged to plan their journeys carefully this Christmas.
Danny Vaughan, Chief Network Officer at TfGM said: “Christmas is one of the best times to enjoy Manchester – so much is going on and there’s such a buzz to the city centre. Our message is clear … the Bee Network is the best way to get there and home again. Board the bus, jump on the tram and plan your journey in advance.
“With plenty of frequent buses and trams to and from the city centre, single bus fares from just £2 and trams from just £1.40, the Bee Network is the easiest, quickest and most affordable way to travel this Christmas.
“Our pop-up park and rides mean you don’t need to struggle for parking in the city centre, but can park for free and finish the journey on a dedicated bus for just £2 single or £4 return and completely free for under 16s.
“As well as the new pop-up park and rides, there’s also 24 park and ride sites across Greater Manchester where you can park for free and jump on the tram – with all the locations and latest tram times available in the Bee Network app.
“We know roads and the network are going to be really busy, especially at weekends. That’s why we’re working closely with Manchester City Council and GMP on a joined-up approach to keep people moving safely around the city as they experience the brilliant things it has to offer.”
Councillor Tracey Rawlins, Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport, said: “Christmas is always a hectic period on our roads and this year we are redoubling our collective efforts to keep the transport network moving across Greater Manchester.
“With millions of people set to visit Manchester City Centre we are urging people to plan their journeys ahead of time and where possible, leave the car at home. There are a huge number of ways to get to town, be that a bus, tram or train, and these will often be a quicker and cheaper alternative.”
The Manc -
19th June 2020 
