POLICE made an April Fool out of criminals during a campaign to clamp down on stealing this spring.
The operation has focused on all aspects of stealing throughout April and has led to a 17 per cent reduction in burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and theft when compared to the same period last year.
The April Fool campaign has taken place across Greater Manchester, and includes 982 arrests, visits to 229 scrap yards and 338 second hand shops and 3,433 disruption visits.
There have also been more than 62,000 hits to the Flickr wanted website, which contains a gallery of pictures of wanted offenders from across the Force.
More than 9,000 members of the public were also given faceto- face support and advice to reduce the chance of becoming a victim of stealing.
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