Police crime update
Cheadle Area Liberal Democrats
working for Gatley, Cheadle, Cheadle Hulme & Heald Green Learn more
Snapshot- what your councillors have been up to
Operation Limit - an update from our police team
Police crime update
Snapshot- what your councillors have been up to
Operation Limit - an update from our police team
Police catch up
by Lib Dem team on 20 January, 2024
On Thursday, January 18th, Councillor Ian Hunter met with Martin Baker, the head of the police in Cheadle and Gatley, to receive an update on local policing efforts.
Martin shared that the emphasis on addressing burglary and shoplifting had led to a notable reduction in crime in both areas.
Looking ahead to 2024, Martin discussed plans for increased community engagement, highlighting the importance of public meetings with a specific focus on collaboration with the business community.
Emphasising the significance of reporting crime, Martin underscored that the police need actionable intelligence to act. In case of emergencies only, the public should dial 999, while 101 is available for non-emergency phone calls or online reporting. The police are particularly interested in information regarding sightings of youths on electric motorbikes.
Hang on a sec.
I don’t doubt that Martin and his team have been putting an emphasis on burglary. And quite right too – it’s an awfully upsetting crime. But I don’t see how he can say, on the one hand, that there’s been a “notable reduction” yet, in the blog post of 6/1, virtually every crime listed was burglary with the Lib Dem comment that there had been a “return to residential burglary”.
The two comments only make seem to make sense if it is the case that there has been a reduction but it’s only been temporary. Is that the situation?
I have reported the youths who scour this area with their scrambler bikes, doing wheelies, and just ignoring the red lights at the Kingsway Gatley junction. They are so incredibly dangerous.
What happened? Nothing. I see them again and again.
You see car theft from the Broadway area almost daily. What happens? Nothing.
I could go on.
I completely agree with the comments by Karen and John I see this daily.
On the other hand when coming home from work this week I have seen a drone up on the hight street not the answer I know. Is this a traffic drone
It would be nice to see a PC walking about would give reassurance to shop keepers and residents and make people aware that the police are about.
As a local councillor I have no authority on policing matters, that control belongs with the Greater Manchester Mayor’s office.
However, at our Area Committee meetings held every six weeks or so we have an agenda item for Neighbourhood Policing. This often includes a report by a police officer and the opportunity for members of the public to raise questions and issue. For a complete answer it is best to submit the question in advance. We only very occasionally get such questions so it would be great to see more interaction.
In addition, I receive roughly weekly Crime Reports listing all the reported crimes in this police area. I’ve looked back to October 2023 and found no reported theft of cars or indeed theft from cars reported in those 3 plus months locally. I expect any such crimes would be reported to support insurance claims by the owner. However, for completeness if anyone has reported a car crime (theft of or theft from a car) since October 2023 please let me know. It is an opportunity to check the statistics with reality.
The scrambler bikes, I’m not an expert on the law so I’m not sure what the reportable crime is. I will ask the questions of the Inspector, what reports have they received regarding the scrambler bikes and what crime can be considered actionable.
I am aware from news reports that the police are reluctant to ‘chase’ youths on bikes after a small number of tragic consequences. I am also aware that the local police have regularly highlighted at Area Committee that the best way to apprehend wrong doers is reports from the public on where these bikes are kept. So if anyone does have information, please let the police know.
It is probably too late for the next Area Committee meeting but if anyone does have a question for the police and unable to attend the meeting, please send me a written question and I will happily read it out and obtain a reply on your behalf.
If only interested, Area Committee meetings are webcast and can be watched, available on the Stockport Council website.