'Lock-down' officers target crime

Police are to "lock-down" streets in Greater Manchester as part of a range of tactics to help tackle crime hotspots in communities.

The Operation Tornado team will set up roadblocks as part of a series of tactics to stop offenders escaping.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology will be used to check vehicles and a drugs dog and police intercept vehicles will also be used.

The team will be targeting burglars over the next few months.

Areas targeted by the new team will have been identified from police intelligence and will be a lot more concentrated than areas targeted by previous ANPR operations, a police spokesman said.

Det Ch Supt Russ Jackson, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "With Operation Tornado we will effectively lock-down areas suffering outbreaks of crime and quickly bring offenders to justice.

"The team will make lightning strikes on a badly affected area and then be rapidly deployed to their next target area keeping offenders guessing on where they will hit next."