GMP say blitz on organised crime is paying off amid fall in shootings
30.05.2023 - 21:31
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Police say crackdowns on guns and the organised criminals who use them have led to a dramatic fall in the number of Greater Manchester shootings. Years on from the so-called 'Gunchester' era, the number of shootings had been on the rise again before the pandemic.
But Greater Manchester Police says the region has turned a corner thanks to a series of operations and arrests. According to previous GMP figures, there were 146 shooting incidents in 2007-08.
From that peak, the number tumbled to 21 in 2013-14. But the trend for firearm discharges was back on the rise for much of the last decade.
READ MORE: Join the FREE Manchester Evening News WhatsApp community
Numbers climbed to 85 in 2019-20. At the time, the Manchester Evening News was told of licensed firearms ending up in criminal hands, and cooperation between gangs in Greater Manchester and Merseyside that was fuelling the new spike.
Yet new official GMP figures released today (May 30) show a decline in shooting incidents over each of the last three years. The force recorded 70 firearm discharges in 2020-21, 46 in 2021-22 and 25 in 2022-23, the lowest number in almost a decade.
It means the number of recorded incidents has fallen by 64% in the space of three years. GMP says that while it 'continues to detect and record more crimes', these figures show that its work in preventing gun crime is 'delivering real results'.
Meanwhile, more than 70 firearms were taken off the streets of Greater Manchester in 2022-23, GMP say, following proactive policing operations and raids carried out by officers. GMP says these operations were designed to crack down on the criminals who supply firearms, while acting upon community intelligence.
Detective Superintendent John