Police chiefs say that improving response to neighbourhood crimes remains a force priority — with Operation Castle illustrating how officers have improved their response to burglaries. So much so that that the model has been adopted across all police forces after the Home Office announced all constabularies would be following GMP's lead and are now required to attend ever report of domestic burglaries. Burglary incidents this year compared with last year show that there have been approximately 3,300 fewer reports, which is said to be due to "our preventative work, attendance at every burglary and exploration of all reasonable lines of enquiry".
Operation Castle continues to see successes since it was started four years ago. Officers say the positive results have come from an increased and sustained investment in additional training for officers and staff to improve their investigative and policing skills when it comes to solving burglaries. Dedicated burglary teams were set up across local districts, and Operation Castle works by using resources across the force to promote crime prevention, improve detections, and also improve public confidence that an attendance at every burglary achieves.
Officers and staff working in neighbourhood crime teams across districts have arrested many offenders, removing those who commit repeat burglaries on our streets. They also ensure that residents and business owners are given crime prevention advice when they visit, to reduce repeat inc.