Merseyside Police

The Office for National Statistics has released an annual report today, Thursday 25 July, showing crime statistics for all police forces across England and Wales. We're pleased to report that overall crime has fallen by 14.26% in Merseyside for the year ending March 2024 compared with the previous 12 months🌟 In Merseyside, reports of a number of serious crimes have reduced which you can see here ➡️ https://orlo.uk/HLl7Y Responding to the statistics, Serena Kennedy KPM said: “It gives me great pride and satisfaction to see in black and white that the hard work put in by officers and staff all year has reaped such rewards. “These numbers represent thousands of people in Merseyside being spared the pain and suffering these crimes can bring. They show that we are going in the right direction, but we know that there is more work to be done. “These reductions show the fruits of their efforts. But they are not a cause for celebration or complacency – for as long as we have people suffering at the hands of offenders in Merseyside, we will strive to keep pushing these numbers down further"

IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! This is your last chance to apply for our Police Constable Entry Route Police Officer for the foreseeable future! This entry route is the one for you if you’re the type of person who likes to be up and doing, and if you’re not looking to work towards a degree. So if you’re looking to spend as little classroom time as possible (although fair warning – there will still be some), apply now! ⏲ https://orlo.uk/6WbpC

Merseyside Police has won a national award for its response to tackling theft and robbery offences involving high-value bikes. The National Acquisitive Crime Reduction Awards were held in Staffordshire on Tuesday 9 July, during the National Cycle & Acquisitive Crime Conference. Among the nominees was Constable Pippa Wilcox from Merseyside Police’s Prevention Hub, who took home the ‘Most Innovative Cycle Crime Reduction Project’ award. In 2023, the force was seeing a significant increase in the number of bikes stolen through serious acquisitive crime offences, such as thefts, burglary, and personal robberies. To combat this, Pippa established a strong partnership with BikeRegister - the UK's National Cycle Database. This was done externally with the wider public and bike retailers, and internally to train officers on the importance bike marking and how it can be used to disrupt criminality. Both bike theft and robbery offences have decreased by 41% since the launch of the initiative in July 2023 (compared to 8 months prior). Read more on our website: https://orlo.uk/xa8Pa

Yesterday, we welcomed Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson to Merseyside Police - her first visit to a police force following her appointment earlier this month. Dame Johnson visited the force to find out more about how officers are driving down crime through initiatives such as EVOLVE (Clear, Hold, Build) and hotspot policing. The minister also met with Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell and learnt more about the shared commitment to Prevention and the wide range of work taking place with the Merseyside Violence Reduction Partnership and partners, particularly to reach young people and steer them away from harmful behaviours towards more positive futures. Welcomed by Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, the Policing Minister held meetings with senior officers at Merseyside Police HQ before going on a hotspot policing patrol in Liverpool. Hotspot policing involves uniformed officers and PCSOs being deployed on regular, high visibility foot patrols within very specific geographical areas where there is an increased probability of serious violence and antisocial behaviour occurring. The visit follows the announcement of the latest results for hotspot policing for the first quarter of 2024 (April to June), which show a significant reduction in crime across 25 hotspot areas. Serious violence has fallen by 47.9% in hotspot areas with 68 fewer offences recorded against the same period the year before. Antisocial behaviour has fallen by 18.8% with 123 fewer incidents recorded. All crime in hotspot areas is down by 15.4%. So far this financial year, officers have completed more than 2,000 foot patrol visits to hotspot areas, thanks to funding from the Home Office. You can read more about EVOLVE here https://orlo.uk/QApfg and hotspot policing here: https://orlo.uk/GRQAY

This week marks the sixth anniversary of Merseyside Police adopting the specialist policing tactic, Project Servator. The tactic aims to disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, while providing a reassuring presence for the public. In Merseyside, these deployments began in 2018 when the tactic was launched at Royal Albert Dock. Since then, the deployments have been expanded to a range of locations including St George's Hall, Liverpool, ACC Liverpool and most recently, Liverpool John Lennon Airport . Deployments can also be seen in the run-up to and during large-scale events such as the Labour Party Conference, music festivals and city-centre parades. The highly visible deployments are deliberately unpredictable and use specially trained uniform and plain-clothes officers to spot the tell-tale signs that someone may be gathering information to help them plan or prepare to commit a crime. These officers will also encourage the public, including people working in local businesses, to be extra eyes and ears, and report suspicious activity. The aim is to build a network of vigilance made up of business and community partners and the general public. In the last six years, Project Servator officers in Merseyside have detected various crimes, been instrumental in sending fugitives back to jail and gathered intelligence vital to keeping our communities safe. To find out more about #ProjectServator and how you can help us keep people safe, visit: https://orlo.uk/zV2eC

Last night, Thursday 11 July, three of our heroic officers attended the Police Federation of England and Wales Police Bravery Awards in London 👏 PCs Ian Hide, John Rimmer and Nathan Beavin were nominated for the award after a violent assault by a knife-wielding man in December 2022. The officers were on plain clothes duty on 5 December 2022 when they were approached by two members of the public who said a man had just threatened them and tried to stab them. The man was still close by and in possession of a bottle and carving knife. PCs Hide and Beavin walked through a nearby alley while PC Rimmer drove his vehicle to the other end of the alley to contain the man, 35-year-old Thomas McComish. It was then that PCs Beavin and Hide located McComish, who began to lunge and slash at PC Hide with the large kitchen knife. As PC Hide fought to defend himself he broke his wrist. At this moment, PC Rimmer arrived, and a struggle broke out as the three constables attempted to disarm and detain the man. As PCs Rimmer and Beavin came to his aid, McComish stabbed twice at PC Rimmer, who "felt the force of the contact" of the blade to his left side. Fortunately, PC Rimmer’s handcuffs protected him from the ferocious blows. Speaking about the incident, PC Hide said: “It was a job that, as a police officer, you pray you never have to go to. It will stay with me for the rest of my life. I can't believe I survived. There remains a large piece of me missing.” This is just one example which shows the incredible courage and bravery our officers have, going to work everyday knowing they could be confronted with dangerous situations ❤️ We want to send a huge congratulations to our three nominees for this incredible recognition and achievement. We are very proud of you! 🤩

Today, we took part in a training event with Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service and North West Ambulance Service to show how we work together to respond to road traffic collisions and to highlight the real impact of dangerous driving on our roads. Unfortunately, we’ve seen the devastation caused to those who have lost loved ones and suffered lifelong injuries because of reckless driving on our roads. That’s why we are committed to making our roads safer across the Liverpool area and beyond. It forms part of our ongoing enforcement and prevention work to reduce those killed or seriously injured (KSI) on our roads. Five roads across Liverpool have been identified as hotspot areas for KSI casualties. Officers have already increased visibility and enforcement activity on these roads in response to the latest data and are working with Liverpool City Council to explore other interventions to improve road safety. We are urging the public to be responsible behind the wheel and report any instances of unsafe driving to us. By working together, we can make our roads as safe as possible. Find out more: https://orlo.uk/4tjjF

Back in May we announced that we had been nominated for a Diverse Company Award at this year's National Diversity Awards. Well, we are pleased to share that we have officially been shortlisted! 👏 We are so grateful to all our partners and members of the public who have nominated us for this award as it identifies us as a large organisation showing great strides in incorporating diversity and inclusion. 🎉 The awards are being held on Friday 4th October.... we will keep you posted! 🤞

Project Medusa is our dedicated team targeting #countylines drug dealing and exploitation. In the last year, we've sentenced criminals to a total of 440 years and closed 484 ‘lines’ exploiting vulnerable people. The operation uses a multi-agency approach to disrupt gangs. Alongside arrests and charges, more than 1,100 children and adults have been safeguarded with the support of Catch22 and Change Grow Live. This is supported by the ongoing work of Operation Stonehaven, which looks to identify and safeguard young people through preventative engagement initiatives. One example of this work is the Trainee Detective project with charity Everton in the Community. The week-long programme is designed to help young people make the right decisions in the future and equip them to recognise the signs of criminal exploitation. To find out more about Project Medusa and our response to County Lines, visit ➡️ https://orlo.uk/JwWci

This week we are celebrating #ResponsePolicing Week! The role of a Response Officer can be physically, mentally, and emotionally tough and the ever-changing world that we live in means the role is more demanding than ever before. Hear from Sergeant Leighton Preston about why he joined Response and what he loves most about the role!