Domestic violence blitz hailed success

The Greater Manchester force has arrested 714 people wanted for such crimes over the last four weeks as part of Operation Scratch.

The four-week blitz saw GMP officer working together to search for people who have committed domestic abuse related crimes and reaching out to communities, urging them to report suspicions or get support if they are a victim.

Det Chief Supt Paul Rumney said: “This month shows our continued commitment to tackling domestic abuse and supporting victims through these horrendous crimes.

“We work hard all year round to fight this blight on society but months like this really help us re-focus on what is important and work together to bring offenders to justice. It was also really important that we shared key information with our officers and staff to ensure they are in the best possible position when supporting victims.

“We have arrested around double the amount of offenders this month than we do in an average month, sending a clear message – domestic abuse will absolutely not be tolerated here in Greater Manchester and we will do everything that we can to ensure victims are kept safe.”

The operation comes eight months after a law change that made coercive and controlling behaviour in relationships illegal. Since then, GMP has investigated 55 reports under the new legislation.

The new law means victims who are subjected to coercive and controlling behaviour can bring their perpetrators to justice, with incidents that stop short of serious physical violence but amount to extreme psychological and emotional abuse will now be recognised as a crime within the domestic abuse framework. For details, whether a victim, friend, family member or neighbour visit: www.gmp.police.uk/domesticabuse.