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| Police double murder: lockdown on Manchester streets where officers were killed | Police double murder: lockdown on Manchester streets where officers were killed |
| (4 days later) | |
| On the North Road that cuts through the east Manchester district of Clayton, a police car can be seen scouting a red-brick boxing gym every 15 minutes. Its regular appearance has been carefully calibrated, part of the huge police operation designed to stymie further bloodshed following the killing of two female police officers in the city. | On the North Road that cuts through the east Manchester district of Clayton, a police car can be seen scouting a red-brick boxing gym every 15 minutes. Its regular appearance has been carefully calibrated, part of the huge police operation designed to stymie further bloodshed following the killing of two female police officers in the city. |
| The Northside Amateur Boxing Club, frequented by the Short family, is among a list of places identified by police as vulnerable to reprisal attacks in a feud between gangs that has shocked the country. | The Northside Amateur Boxing Club, frequented by the Short family, is among a list of places identified by police as vulnerable to reprisal attacks in a feud between gangs that has shocked the country. |
| Parts of Greater Manchester are effectively in lockdown. Many residents are convinced that the gangland feud said to have seen Dale Cregan, 29, charged with the murder of constables Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, is far from over. Cregan is also charged with the murder of Mark Short, 23, and his father David, 46, and the attempted murder of another family member. | Parts of Greater Manchester are effectively in lockdown. Many residents are convinced that the gangland feud said to have seen Dale Cregan, 29, charged with the murder of constables Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, is far from over. Cregan is also charged with the murder of Mark Short, 23, and his father David, 46, and the attempted murder of another family member. |
| Joe Pennington, who has been running the club for 20 years, said: "It's pretty tense. People are worried about backlashes, looking around at cars passing the gym and so on." | Joe Pennington, who has been running the club for 20 years, said: "It's pretty tense. People are worried about backlashes, looking around at cars passing the gym and so on." |
| The gym, in the heart of Clayton and used by many affiliates of the Short family, only reopened on Monday 16 September after weeks spent shut following police warnings about the risk of attack. | The gym, in the heart of Clayton and used by many affiliates of the Short family, only reopened on Monday 16 September after weeks spent shut following police warnings about the risk of attack. |
| The following day, on the outskirts of Hattersley estate, seven miles south-east of the Northside club, Bone and Hughes were killed in a gun and grenade attack that reopened the debate on arming officers, raised levels of community distrust towards police and saw David Cameron visit the city to express his "profound shock". | The following day, on the outskirts of Hattersley estate, seven miles south-east of the Northside club, Bone and Hughes were killed in a gun and grenade attack that reopened the debate on arming officers, raised levels of community distrust towards police and saw David Cameron visit the city to express his "profound shock". |
| But for the population of east Manchester, it is what happens next that will be crucial. Police say a number of grenades remain possibly unaccounted for. | But for the population of east Manchester, it is what happens next that will be crucial. Police say a number of grenades remain possibly unaccounted for. |
| For now, Pennington says that the Short family are keeping a low profile: "They'll be watching out – anything could happen. We'll have to wait and see. Not seen many around. David has not even been buried yet." | For now, Pennington says that the Short family are keeping a low profile: "They'll be watching out – anything could happen. We'll have to wait and see. Not seen many around. David has not even been buried yet." |
| Yet Greater Manchester police, trying to restore order while grieving over its own darkest day, continues to issue scores of "Osman" warnings – official notices sent to members of the public explaining that officers have obtained credible intelligence that they are at "high risk of murder". | Yet Greater Manchester police, trying to restore order while grieving over its own darkest day, continues to issue scores of "Osman" warnings – official notices sent to members of the public explaining that officers have obtained credible intelligence that they are at "high risk of murder". |
| In Hattersley, scene of last week's police double killing, residents are apprehensive. The consensus among many is that peace will prevail as long as large numbers of police are camped on its streets – but what might occur, they ask, when they leave? "There are a lot of people checking their backs. Everybody is anxious about what happens when the police go," said one resident in his 40s who did not want to be identified. | In Hattersley, scene of last week's police double killing, residents are apprehensive. The consensus among many is that peace will prevail as long as large numbers of police are camped on its streets – but what might occur, they ask, when they leave? "There are a lot of people checking their backs. Everybody is anxious about what happens when the police go," said one resident in his 40s who did not want to be identified. |
| Many on the estate are defensive when asked about the police killings. No one wants to give their names. Long before darkness, the streets of Hattersley are disquietingly empty. Locals say the violence has transformed the estate into a ghost town, with many lying low "for various reasons". One teenager said: "It's gone proper quiet, never seen it like this. Maybe police have scared them off." | Many on the estate are defensive when asked about the police killings. No one wants to give their names. Long before darkness, the streets of Hattersley are disquietingly empty. Locals say the violence has transformed the estate into a ghost town, with many lying low "for various reasons". One teenager said: "It's gone proper quiet, never seen it like this. Maybe police have scared them off." |
| While Cregan was on the run, he reportedly stayed on this overspill estate. Despite Greater Manchester police's biggest manhunt and the offer of a £50,000 reward, some residents claim he had been seen on the estate's wide streets. The lack of information prompted the GMP's chief constable, Peter Fahy, to lament the "conspiracy of silence" that had protected Cregan. | While Cregan was on the run, he reportedly stayed on this overspill estate. Despite Greater Manchester police's biggest manhunt and the offer of a £50,000 reward, some residents claim he had been seen on the estate's wide streets. The lack of information prompted the GMP's chief constable, Peter Fahy, to lament the "conspiracy of silence" that had protected Cregan. |
| Some suggest that the community was not harbouring a wanted man, but merely protecting itself, fearing that the repercussions of "grassing" were greater than not telling the police. Yet many on the estate are adamant that they would have known had Cregan been hiding there and would have had no qualms about notifying the police. | Some suggest that the community was not harbouring a wanted man, but merely protecting itself, fearing that the repercussions of "grassing" were greater than not telling the police. Yet many on the estate are adamant that they would have known had Cregan been hiding there and would have had no qualms about notifying the police. |
| Kieran Quinn, leader of Tameside council, said it would have been impossible for Cregan to have hidden undetected in Hattersley: "If one person had known for one second that Cregan was there, they would have contacted the police. This veil of silence is simply a veil of ignorance: the community had no knowledge. This is a strong, well-connected community that cares for itself and looks after its neighbours. They have been absolutely taken aback that this should happen in their peaceful area." | Kieran Quinn, leader of Tameside council, said it would have been impossible for Cregan to have hidden undetected in Hattersley: "If one person had known for one second that Cregan was there, they would have contacted the police. This veil of silence is simply a veil of ignorance: the community had no knowledge. This is a strong, well-connected community that cares for itself and looks after its neighbours. They have been absolutely taken aback that this should happen in their peaceful area." |
| His claims are corroborated by council sources who allege they have been told by police that Cregan turned up on the estate only a short time before the murders. "The information they have is that he had only just arrived. He's a guy who has been on the run, hiding away in rat holes all over the place." | His claims are corroborated by council sources who allege they have been told by police that Cregan turned up on the estate only a short time before the murders. "The information they have is that he had only just arrived. He's a guy who has been on the run, hiding away in rat holes all over the place." |
| Inside the estate's community centre – next to a neighbourhood police station plastered with posters promoting Greater Manchester's lauded gun crime unit, Xcalibre Task Force – workers maintain that no one knew Cregan was in town. | Inside the estate's community centre – next to a neighbourhood police station plastered with posters promoting Greater Manchester's lauded gun crime unit, Xcalibre Task Force – workers maintain that no one knew Cregan was in town. |
| Instead, they claim Hattersley has been unfairly vilified in the past week. Quinn recounts how one television crew asked curious youths at the crime scene to zip up their hoodies pre-interview and of faithfully reporting claims by "young bucks saying 'Yeah I saw him', in order to show off". Claims that criminals coming out of prison are treated like kings on their return to the estate are rubbished by everyone. | Instead, they claim Hattersley has been unfairly vilified in the past week. Quinn recounts how one television crew asked curious youths at the crime scene to zip up their hoodies pre-interview and of faithfully reporting claims by "young bucks saying 'Yeah I saw him', in order to show off". Claims that criminals coming out of prison are treated like kings on their return to the estate are rubbished by everyone. |
| But others are quick to identify distrust of the police as a real issue, among them one of Britain's most eminent criminologists who last Thursday visited the estate. David Wilson, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Birmingham City University, said the 2,800-home estate below the foothills of the Pennines appeared indicative of a failed, post-industrial "hollowed-out society". | But others are quick to identify distrust of the police as a real issue, among them one of Britain's most eminent criminologists who last Thursday visited the estate. David Wilson, professor of criminology and criminal justice at Birmingham City University, said the 2,800-home estate below the foothills of the Pennines appeared indicative of a failed, post-industrial "hollowed-out society". |
| Wilson said a vacuum of jobs and amenities on such estates created a disillusion with the authorities among youngsters that was readily exploited by organised criminals who could offer them a purpose and structure. He said: "When the traditional social and economic infrastructure that dominates most communities and provides organisation – banks, churches, factories, workplaces – disappears, people still want order to their lives." | Wilson said a vacuum of jobs and amenities on such estates created a disillusion with the authorities among youngsters that was readily exploited by organised criminals who could offer them a purpose and structure. He said: "When the traditional social and economic infrastructure that dominates most communities and provides organisation – banks, churches, factories, workplaces – disappears, people still want order to their lives." |
| He said in places where the police were perceived as ineffective or had a low profile, young men in particular gravitated towards an alternative justice system. | He said in places where the police were perceived as ineffective or had a low profile, young men in particular gravitated towards an alternative justice system. |
| "If communities never really see the police, or they appear ineffectual, they will turn to others they see more regularly and who they think will deliver results." In such cases, says Wilson, officers are derided as "metaphors" of a state they believe has neglected them. Cregan was quickly celebrated by some as a hero prepared to stand against the authorities. | "If communities never really see the police, or they appear ineffectual, they will turn to others they see more regularly and who they think will deliver results." In such cases, says Wilson, officers are derided as "metaphors" of a state they believe has neglected them. Cregan was quickly celebrated by some as a hero prepared to stand against the authorities. |
| But antipathy towards the police spreads wider than just Hattersley, with last year's rioting in Greater Manchester's city centre, 10 miles away, partly blamed on distrust of the authorities. On Thursday, as Fahy laid flowers at the spot where two of his officers were killed in the line of duty, reports emerged of an incident in Wythenshawe, south Manchester, of a man severely beaten by youths because his German shepherd dog was the breed used by police. | But antipathy towards the police spreads wider than just Hattersley, with last year's rioting in Greater Manchester's city centre, 10 miles away, partly blamed on distrust of the authorities. On Thursday, as Fahy laid flowers at the spot where two of his officers were killed in the line of duty, reports emerged of an incident in Wythenshawe, south Manchester, of a man severely beaten by youths because his German shepherd dog was the breed used by police. |
| For Fahy, the events of last week might also reaffirm the changing nature of Greater Manchester's gun crime map. Previously his resources were concentrated upon the "triangle of death" encompassing inner-city Moss Side and Longsight to the south of the centre, with its armed, primarily black, gangs battling over drugs territory. The current feud resembles those between "old school" crime families from white working-class communities whose rivalry originally stemmed from parochialism but became personal. | For Fahy, the events of last week might also reaffirm the changing nature of Greater Manchester's gun crime map. Previously his resources were concentrated upon the "triangle of death" encompassing inner-city Moss Side and Longsight to the south of the centre, with its armed, primarily black, gangs battling over drugs territory. The current feud resembles those between "old school" crime families from white working-class communities whose rivalry originally stemmed from parochialism but became personal. |
| Pennington, raised on the streets of Clayton, will spend the weekend hoping a fragile peace will hold and that Greater Manchester's east side does not descend into the internecine gun war that engulfed the south of the city two decades ago. He said: "There's always been little bits of beef [between Droylsden and Clayton] but this is well over the top." | Pennington, raised on the streets of Clayton, will spend the weekend hoping a fragile peace will hold and that Greater Manchester's east side does not descend into the internecine gun war that engulfed the south of the city two decades ago. He said: "There's always been little bits of beef [between Droylsden and Clayton] but this is well over the top." |
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