Local shop owner, Nellie Ramsey, told the Messenger about her anger at the behaviour of police officers during a stop and search incident outside her sandwich shop in our issue 67 article, ‘Sensitive Community Policing?’. The incident was part of operation Gulliver and used powers under Section 60 of the Public Order Act.
The Messenger approached the police for a comment on this incident. We asked for more information about operation Gulliver and to clarify what powers section 60 give the police. We also asked them about the lack of police activity on Firshill Road, reported in our issue 67 article ‘Residents call for action on Firshill Road’. We received the following response from Sergeant Simon Leake of the New Deal Police Team.
Police aim to ‘disrupt the activities of criminal gangs’
Operation Gulliver began on 6th November 2006 and was implemented to deal with increased intelligence regarding criminal gangs operating in the Burngreave and Pitsmoor locality.
The aim of the operation is to provide public reassurance in the Burngreave/Pitsmoor area and to disrupt the activities of criminal gangs in respect of the trafficking of class A drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.
In certain circumstances when intelligence suggests there is a heightened threat of violence, a senior police officer may implement section 60 in accordance with the Public Order Act. This allows officers to search persons for weapons within the boundary of the identified locality, in this case Burngreave and Pitsmoor. The authority is temporary and is reviewed daily. Normally officers carrying out stop search would be required to have and then explain grounds for any search, such as suspicion of the presence of drugs or stolen property or weapons. When a section 60 authority is in place there is no requirement for an officer to have those grounds. The use of section 60 searches has taken place during Operation Gulliver.
However what is important is that Officers continue to use these powers responsibly and with respect towards the person subjected to the search. I am fully aware of the negative effects the misuse of stop and search powers can have on both the individual and the community. I continually monitor the use of Stop and search by Officers deployed in Burngreave and Pitsmoor.
It is important to reflect that this operation has been implemented to improve life in the locality and it is not in the interest of the Police service to erode relations with the community.
I am pleased that the residents in the Firshill Road area of Pitsmoor have noted the recent increase in Police presence. This is my response to the problems highlighted during the residents meeting in early November. We will try to respond whenever there is public concern. There has been a small increase in our establishment and we have welcomed three new Police Community Support Officers to the Safer Neighbourhood Team. These officers are patrolling the locality and will provide reassurance and assistance wherever possible.
The results in respect of Operation Gulliver so far include
60 Arrests
The recovery of
47.5 gm Cannabis
64.6 gm Crack Cocaine value £6,168
30 gm Heroin value £1,200
9 Knives, a handgun, an imitation handgun, knuckle dusters
Seizures of illegally held cash £10,960
4 Stolen motor cars