Merseyside Police has announced that in addition to their regular anti-social behaviour (ASB) prevention work in Knowsley, there will be additional officers dedicated to targeting ASB, retail theft and incidents of serious violence.
The operation – known as Operation Zinc – has been put in place to run throughout the summer and will last until the end of September. The additional officers are supporting the Local Policing teams’ plans to deter, divert and disrupt those who are making people’s lives a misery by committing crime and ASB in areas of Knowsley.
Andrew Golightly, Acting Inspector for Huyton, who is coordinating the operation, said: “We are committed to preventing ASB and criminality in Knowsley and we have robust plans in place to tackle those who are making people’s lives miserable. We know from experience that those who are responsible for ASB can often go on to committing crime and getting involved in more serious crimes that have a detrimental impact on our communities.
“This additional policing time will assist us in identifying those who are involved so that swift action can be taken and it can also help us to work with our partners to provide resolution pathways for young people and divert them away from ASB and criminality.
“We will also be using other preventative measures including Acceptable Behaviour Agreements (ABAs), Community Protection Notices and Criminal Behaviour Orders in place, to ensure our communities can have enjoy the rest of the summer without it being blighted by ASB and criminality.
“Across the force every area is stepping up its efforts to deliver the Safer Streets Summer campaign and we are committed to making our town centres safer and I’m proud of the work we’re doing in Knowsley as a part of that.”
Cllr Shelley Powell, Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods, said: “Knowsley Council is working with Merseyside Police and other partners to help make our town centres safer. For Council teams this includes community walkabouts, 24/7 monitoring of our extensive CCTV network, licensing compliance checks and, where necessary, civil enforcement action being taken.”
The additional anti-social behaviour patrols will run at different times and locations around Knowsley each week at various locations throughout Knowsley and will combine a mixture of vehicle and foot patrols in order to provide visibility and reassurance to residents.