Police out in force to tackle Handforth crime

POLICE have flooded the streets of Handforth in their fight against anti-social behaviour and criminal damage after recent statistics revealed that crime rates in the village have soared to the second highest in the borough.

Uniformed and plain clothed officers from the Community Action Team have been patrolling hotspot areas to reign in yobs, confiscate alcohol and provide reassurance to residents as part of a crackdown in the run up to Christmas.

Letters have also been sent to the parents of youths caught causing trouble in the neighbourhood and six youths have been arrested.

PC George Marguerie, of Wilmslow Police, said: "There have been officers in high visibility jackets patrolling the streets as a preventative measure and to give reasurance to residents.

"We have also had officers in plain clothes monitoring the area to pick up on those youths who have tried to avoid our uniformed officers.

"Extra officers have been out for the past two weeks and compared to the previous two weeks there was a 45 per cent reduction in criminal damage and a 50 per cent fall in violent crime."

The rise in crime in Handforth has been put down to mischievious youths in the run up to halloween and bonfire night coupled with a reduction in police staffing levels.

Handforth also lost its community warden in March this year after the funding ran out.

In the run up to Christmas PC Marguerie says officers aim to continue to reduce the number of incidents and improve the quality of life for residents.

He said: "At this time of year incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour usually rise and as we approach Christmas our officers will be trying to get a grip on it.

"Being understaffed hasn't helped because there has been a gap in our strength but we are in the process of recruiting two more officers so our team will be back up to full strength."

Handforth ward councillor Barry Burkhill said: "If we want to slow the problem of youth nuisance behaviour getting out of control, they need to be caught while they are young before they graduate to other crimes."