EVOLVE Wirral's 'build' phase continues to make a difference
Suspected Class A and B drugs with a street value of more than £1.5 million have been seized and almost 500 arrests made in the last 12 months in an area of Wirral subject to an initiative tackling serious and organised crime.
The Clear, Hold, Build initiative, which is supported by the Home Office and known locally as EVOLVE Wirral, covers Beechwood and Ballantyne, Noctorum, and Woodchurch and aims to improve communities worst affected by serious and organised crime.
The Clear and Hold phases were launched following the murder of Elle Edwards on December 24, 2022 while the Build phase was launched on May 18, 2023 and is designed to build communities into more prosperous and safer areas resilient to gang-related activity.
Since then, police and partners have been working hard to rid the areas of criminality while supporting and strengthening communities.
In the last year, officers have made 486 arrests related to organised crime groups (OCGs) and have seen 111 offenders sentenced to 294 years in prison.
Officers have seized 26 weapons, 12 firearms, £485,000 in cash, nearly £1million in suspected Class A drugs and around £600,000 in Cannabis.
They have also safeguarded 23 adults and 12 children.
A Trading Standards operation additionally resulted in the seizure of around £15,000 of illegal tobacco, vapes and cash.
EVOLVE Wirral is a long-term project where police and partners are committed to making a significant difference to the lives of residents and generations to come, as well as bring about a change in attitude to those thinking about becoming involved in gang-related activity.
The last year has seen further significant inroads in tackling serious and organised crime in the EVOLVE Wirral neighbourhoods.
A huge amount of cash and drugs have been taken out of the hands of criminals and we are continuing to see a year-on-year reduction in serious and organised crime, which is extremely positive.
However, we are not complacent and work to tackle criminality, protect the vulnerable and help prevent crime will be ongoing and relentless.
Police alone cannot tackle serious and organised crime. To have the greatest impact we need to be working together with residents, community groups and partners.
People need to keep telling us, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, about the drug dealing, weapons storage, exploitation, anti-social behaviour and any other crime they see so we can take action and either get people off our streets or get them the help they need.
Information given to Crimestoppers is completely anonymous – no-one other than you will ever know you made the report but that piece of information you have could be critical in potentially saving someone’s life so please make that report either over the phone or online.
As part of the EVOLVE work three participatory budget events have taken place in April and May that have seen 23 local organisations receive a portion of £42,000 to help empower them to make a difference in their communities.
Residents in Beechwood and Ballantyne, Noctorum, and Woodchurch voted for the projects they wanted to see receive funding to provide activities and resources to help prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, tackle County Lines, protect vulnerable people and help reduce recruitment to gangs.
Funding for the events came from a combination of money and assets seized from convicted criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act, Magenta Living, Onward Homes and Wirral Council.
The two-year anniversary of EVOLVE Wirral marks a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to combat serious organised crime in our communities.
This initiative has made remarkable strides in dismantling criminal networks, safeguarding vulnerable people, and restoring a sense of safety and security to neighbourhoods.
This is thanks to the dedication and hard work of the police in collaboration with so many partner organisations and local residents, who have all played a vital role in achieving this success.This proactive work has fostered resilience and unity within communities previously blighted by organised crime groups and the tireless work of everyone involved shows that together, we can create safer, stronger and more hopeful futures for all.
The fight against serious organised crime is far from over, but these achievements are evidence that we are on the right path. I’m very grateful to all those who have contributed to this initiative and urge everyone to continue supporting our efforts to make Wirral and Merseyside a safer place for generations to come.
Secondary schools in the EVOLVE areas have also been taking part in a roll out of spoken word workshops called 'Dear Merseyside' with local artist Joseph Roberts to help raise awareness of the dangers of gangs and encourage reporting to Fearless - the young person's equivalent to Crimestoppers.
Wirral Council has been carrying out significant environmental improvements in the last 12 months.
Among the successes are an award from Keep Britain Tidy for community engagement for their commitment to improving the three estates.
This included:
- Seven community environmental action days between May and November 2024
- Free skips made available in residential locations for all residents to use thanks to partnership funding
- Free large item collection points for all residents to use
- Community litter picks that included children from local primary schools
- Jet washing of public paved areas at the local shopping precinct
- Staff and volunteers aiding those who could not physically move their larger items
Following the community environmental action days:
- 17 tonnes of waste were removed via skips and large item collection points
- 53 bags of waste were collected from litter picks
- 487 volunteering hours given
- 59 home safety checks completed (MFRS)
- 31 smoke alarm/heat detectors installed (MFRS)
Other notable successes include the repair of the footbridge on the Noctorum estate, three further environmental action days in March and an Easter egg hunt involving young children from Noctorum and two local primary schools who designed Easter eggs to use in the hunt with chocolate prizes given to all participants.
Over the last two years, community safety partners have worked closely together to bring about tangible change in communities that had previously been under the shadow of gangs and organised crime.
Key to the progress that has been made has been the positive involvement and engagement from the law-abiding residents and local stakeholders in these areas.
Through a number of activities and initiatives across all three EVOLVE areas, the community has come together, contributed ideas and helped to clearly demonstrate that their strength of feeling is stronger than the unacceptable behaviour and that their estates have so much more to be proud of.
Clear, Hold, Build is designed and partly funded by the Home Office and sees Merseyside Police working together with partners and residents to disrupt and deter organised crime groups and help rebuild neighbourhoods into places where people would love to live, work and visit.
Magenta Living has received 37 reports of anti-social behaviour in Woodchurch resulting in the tenants being spoken to - nine received formal warnings and two were moved.
They have also received four reports of anti-social behaviour in Noctorum where the tenants have been spoken to.
