POLICE say they are targeting known criminals in the fight against rising crime.

Concerned residents met with police in Radcliffe this week to relay fears over what they see as a sharp rise in violent crime in the area.

They went to a Bury South Police and Community Consultative Group gathering at Radcliffe Hall CE and Methodist Primary School on Tuesday, looking for answers from the police.

Local people have been shaken following a spate of violent robberies over recent months and gave their views.

Chief Inspector David Morris of Bury Police took time to reassure them.

He said: "I fully understand their concerns. The situation in Radcliffe, Prestwich and Whitefield is very disturbing. But I would say that Radcliffe is the least affected of the three towns. "And I would ask people to see the wider picture. This sort of crime is still very much the unusual, however upsetting it may be. People affected by this sort of crime are still in the minority. The fear of crime is greater than the actual danger of it happening. Having said that we are in the process of targeting operations against known criminals."

Mr Morris explained that gangs were coming into the south of Bury from Crumpsall, Manchester, Salford, Middleton, Blackley and Heywood, to commit crime.

He said: "These people are hard to plan to operate against. There is a difficulty in targeting them. They employ good planning and an element of luck. Teams from off the patch are difficult to combat."

At the meeting, it was said that domestic crime was falling but attacks on commercial premises were increasing. And people running businesses in south Bury were as worried for their personal safety as they were for their premises.

Mr Morris asked people to be particularly vigilant while going about their day-to-day business. He added: "If people see anything suspicious but which they think is non-urgent they should contact their township police stations.

"Otherwise they should ring 999 or police headquarters on 0161 872 5050. I would ask people to pass on any information they may have and let us be the judge of whether it is useful or not."

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