Police operation see 12% drop in crime across Lancaster, Morecambe and Blackpool

Led by the Lancashire Violence Reduction Network (VRN), Operation Grip delivers a combination of knife crime education, community engagement and enforcement activity to reduce and prevent knife and violent crime across Lancashire.

Working alongside local neighbourhood policing teams, the VRN identified 20 hotspot areas across Lancashire based on recorded homicide, rape and violence with injury that became the focus for increased policing activity on a randomised patrol schedule.

Seven hotspots were identified for West division which covers the areas of Lancaster and Morecambe, Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.

From October to December 2022, there was an average of 12% reduction in crime and an average of 24% decrease in serious violence within these hotspots, compared with the same time period in 2021.

Operational activity includes foot patrols, interacting with groups and providing a visible presence of uniformed officers.

Officers also conduct intelligence led disruption visits, vehicle stops and stop searches.

Sgt Dan Whitaker said: “Our mission at Lancashire Violence Reduction Network has four strands – prevention, enforcement, evidence, and culture.

“Prevention and early intervention are at the heart of what we do, and these fantastic results for the west division of our county reflect just that.

“A lot of our work is supported by our partners and community links, who we work with closely to achieve the best possible outcome for victims and prevent future crimes and incidents within our communities.

“We promote a learning culture and will continue to do so within our future work and hope to see more results like this going forward.”