£6.5m bid to beat gun crime

Date published: 05/06/2008

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is to plough £6.5 million to strengthen Xcalibre, the force’s response to tackling gun crime.

This will mean more than 120 police officers and staff will be dedicated to combating gun crime.

“We constantly re-evaluate the way in which we handle gun crime and adapt our tactics accordingly,” said Deputy Chief Constable Ian Seabridge.

“This has resulted in a year-on-year decrease in firearms offences. When we set up Xcalibre in 2004, the overall aim was for gun-free streets, and that still remains our aim today. To help us achieve this, a large portion of this extra cash will go towards building on the successes we’ve had in cutting the supply of firearms, removing guns from our streets and bringing offenders to justice.”

The force recognises the need to continue to provide a robust and effective response to the criminal activities committed by gangs associated with firearms.

“Unfortunately, a culture pervades among young people in certain communities that being a member of a gang offers an attractive lifestyle and a sense of belonging. What we are also beginning to see, and of concern to us, is that younger people are getting involved in these gangs,” Mr Seabridge added.

Although firearms incidents are on the decrease, the number of discharges rose last year by 30. Operation Cougar was put in place to target those gangs who historically have been responsible for more than 50 per cent of discharges and to monitor the tensions between them.

This activity saw a dramatic fall in gang-related shootings with, so far this year, none recorded compared to last year where 57 per cent of all shootings were gang-related and in 2005, 75 per cent could be linked to gang-related activity.

This extra resource will provide an enhanced structure that will give GMP a greater capability to effectively manage its reactive and proactive responses to tackling gun crime and build on the successes of Operation Cougar.

The Tactical Aid Unit will provide additional support to build on the successes of the Xcalibre Task Force (XTF), which was set up in 2006 as a dedicated unit to deal with gang-related gun crime, and responsible for a dramatic decrease in gang-related shootings.

For the first time Xcalibre will have dedicated Murder Incident Teams (MIT) with specialist knowledge to enable it to provide a robust and holistic approach to tackling gun and gang-related homicide and conspiracy investigations in a more coordinated, reactive and proactive manner.

The Armed Crime Unit will refocus its efforts and provide a dedicated investigative arm of XTF and concentrate on tackling the supply of firearms to gangs – an area it has already had significant successes in.

The Cold Case Review Unit will be re-examining some of the unsolved homicides relating to gang shootings and all 12 divisions in GMP will have a dedicated team of officers that can react to identified threats from gangs associated with firearms. They will provide XTF with local knowledge and increase their capability to respond to firearms incidents.

Mr Seabridge added: “Police cannot work alone to take all guns off the streets of Greater Manchester. The issue also has to be tackled at grass roots and this begins with changing the attitudes of those involved and those about to get involved in gun crime. Therefore, GMP will continue to work very closely with other agencies such as social services, education, probation, MMAGS etc. as well as community groups – all of which have the same aim – to rid our streets of guns.”