Warning to gang members to ‘not feel comfortable in your homes’

A senior police officer said he wants gang members to “not feel comfortable in their own homes” amid a series of public raids to tackle organised crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Jon Roy sent the powerful message to organised crime group (OCG) members as part of the Merseyside Police’s EVOLVE Wirral launch day on May 18. The Home Office-designed project, the third of three EVOLVE initiatives in Merseyside, will see the police work alongside partners and residents in the Woodchurch, Noctorum and Beechwood estates to disrupt and deter OCG activity.

The project launched with five coordinated raids targeting people allegedly involved in serious drug crime in Wirral. Three people were arrested and a quantity of drugs and cash were seized.

READ MORE: Child’s terrified screams during police raid show devastating impact of organised crime

And following the arrests, ACC Roy told the ECHO how the police had sent a message to gang members. He said: “My message is the same any day – you cannot feel safe in your homes, because we will be relentless in our drive to find you and arrest you for the offences you have committed. And we will do everything in our power to tackle your criminality so other people can feel safe in their homes.”

EVOLVE Wirral was introduced in response to the gun murders of Jackie Rutter and Elle Edwards. The initiative had already been launched in Liverpool and Knowsley following the murders of nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Ashley Dale and Sam Rimmer – all in a tragic seven day period.

As part of the force’s work tackling OCGs in Wirral, Merseyside Police has made nearly 400 arrests and executed 95 warrants and searches. Officers have also seized significant amounts of cash and Class A and B drugs.

ACC Roy told the ECHO: “Organised criminality is significant globally and we’ve seen the gun crime murders in Liverpool and Wirral. The Wirral hasn’t been immune and our commitment here is tackling the crime.”

The senior officer added: “Our commitment to tackle organised crime and clear it out of the communities. This is a commitment to communities who have for too long been blighted by organised crime, knife crime, gun crime, by serious violence, to stay with them and work with them in a different way and then build it back.”

A significant part of the EVOLVE project is to help reclaim and rebuild areas at risk of significant harm from criminal gangs – and then regenerate the areas with community and partner-led initiatives.

Chief Inspector Tom Welch, who is one of the lead officers involved in EVOLVE Wirral, said: “This activity marks the start of the Build phase of the project where we will be working closely with partners and communities to help those living and working in the Woodchurch, Beechwood and Noctorum estates. As a group we will be doing everything in our powers to disrupt and deter criminals from operating on our streets and ultimately to see them put behind bars.

“This is a long-term project where we want to make a difference to these neighbourhoods so they are safer for generations to come. To help us make the greatest impact we need the community to continue to engage with us to give us the intelligence we need to be able to keep people safe and we ask those with any information to contact us, or Crimestoppers, anonymously.”

Anyone with any information about crime is asked to call Merseyside Police on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

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