Dedicated patrols across Wigan to stamp out anti-social behaviour on Bonfire Night

Operation Treacle is a partnership initiative involving Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and Wigan Council’s community resolution team to stamp out any trouble.

Neighbourhood teams have been deployed in Wigan this weekend, with patrol vehicles containing a police officer, a firefighter and a member of the community resolution team.

They will offer community safety advice, respond to incidents of anti-social behaviour and provide highly visible targeted patrols across the borough.

The team, led by Sgt Dave Law, also provides crime prevention advice to members of the community about bonfire safety and the safe use of fireworks, identifies unsafe bonfires and arranges their removal, and issues local authority contact cards for people involved in anti-social behaviour.

Insp Sam Davies said: “The work we do with our partners in the community is invaluable and a targeted partnership approach allows us to provide a robust policing response to issues of anti-social behaviour around this time of year.

“Anti-social behaviour is continually raised by our communities as being an area of concern and our job as your neighbourhood officers is to listen to these concerns. We want the people we serve to feel safe and be free from criminal behaviour, from nuisance and disorder in the areas they live and work.

“The information gathered by the patrol teams are fed directly into the Community Safety Partnership so we can create interventions to create a safer Wigan for all.”