Hundreds of police officers have been mobilised to carry out dozens of raids across Merseyside on Thursday as part of a region-wide operation. Merseyside Police dispatched 300 officers from various teams, including Matrix, County Lines, dog and mounted police, to the streets as part of large-scale Operation Vanguard.
They executed 28 warrants in the first wave of raids this morning, in what will be the largest day of action the operation has seen since it began. Officers in Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, St Helens, and Knowsley have been proactively targeting people suspected of causing harm to their communities in their criminal activity.
Targeting serious and organised crime
Police have been targeting individuals suspected of being involved in serious and organised crime in these areas as part of EVOLVE - an initiative focused on seizing drugs, weapons, illicit cash and assets, the Echo reports. It uses a combination of enforcement, safeguarding and engagement with partner agencies, Merseyside Police explained. It called EVOLVE a sustained and multi-faceted approach to improving safety and local quality of life, rather than isolated short-term activity.
The force said it wants to engage the community, especially young people and support broader area-wide crime reduction and community confidence building.
Chief Constable's warning
Chief Constable Rob Carden said: "It is an operation involving a significant number of officers deploying a vast range of tactics and should leave criminals in absolutely no doubt that this force has complete contempt for criminality. If you are involved in crime, you are not welcome here and the scale of today’s activity demonstrates very clearly the strength of our resolve to rid all of our communities of the harm offenders bring. If you are dealing drugs, storing and using weapons, or assaulting or abusing vulnerable people, you have nowhere to hide in Merseyside."
"This morning 28 warrants have so far been carried out and throughout the today our Roads Policing teams will be stopping cars suspected of being used in criminality and taking action against drink and drug drivers and those who use our roads for criminal activity. A number of searches will be carried out including by the North West Underwater Search Team in those places criminals are suspected of discarding items linked to their offending."
