Deputy Mayor joins police on vehicle parts theft crackdown

A crackdown on stolen vehicles in Oldham during Greater Manchester Police's vehicle day of action sees Greater Manchester’s Deputy Mayor, Kate Green, join police officers as they conduct searches for stolen vehicle parts at a scrapyard in Chadderton.

Neighbourhood officers, alongside colleagues from GMP’s Stolen Vehicle Examination Unit, attended the search to share their expert advice and analysis in relation to stolen vehicles to disrupt any illegal activity and search for stolen high-value car parts.

Last week, during Operation AVRO, officers uncovered a ‘chop shop’ near Oldham's Town centre where they found a number of vehicle parts and cars. 

Since the dismantling of the chop shop, officers are pleased to report a reduction in car crime in Oldham from 20 to 13 car thefts that were reported to police last week.

Inspector Tony Allt, of GMP’s Oldham District, said: “The work conducted by officers is imperative to disrupting this type of criminality.

“There are a lot of intricacies involved to search for vehicle parts and then accurately attribute them to stolen vehicles in the area, this is done by officers in the Stolen Vehicle Examination Unit.

“It is often that we see stolen vehicles found in chop shops and scrapyards that are ready to be taken apart and sold on for a profit, and in Oldham, we are looking to robustly disrupt the organised process of selling stolen vehicle parts.

“As we continue to work tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice, we need your help by acting on our advice to keep your vehicle safe from crime, which can be found on our website."

Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire, said: “I was fascinated to hear from the officers today about how this complex work is linked to tackling serious organised crime and the proactive measures neighbourhood officers are taking to investigate and tackle criminality.

“We know people are rightly concerned about vehicle crime and this work is a great example of our neighbourhood policing approach is delivering highly visible results to tackle not only crime in the local area but to also disrupt serious organised crime.”

Anyone with information about car thefts, or anyone who believes suspicious activity is taking place at premises that may be a ‘chop shop’, can report it online or via LiveChat at www.gmp.police.uk or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.