Greater Manchester Police reveal why they deployed vehicle checkpoints across the city last night

Greater Manchester Police have revealed why they had a number of vehicle checkpoints stationed across the city last night. 

The force explained in a tweet that the random checkpoints are part of Project Servator, an initiative designed to spot and disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, through patrols carried out by specially trained officers.

They wrote: “Specially trained officers have deployed vehicle check points across the city centre this evening as part of #Projectservator. These unpredictable deployments occur day or night and utilise uniformed and plain clothes officers.”

GMP also reassured the public that heightened police presence does not always mean a crime or act of terror is suspected to be about to happen, and that it can just be routine patrolling.

Over on their website, they explained further: “Our officers are experienced and specially trained to spot the tell-tale signs that someone is planning or preparing to commit an act of crime.

“Our officers will arrive unannounced at various locations. These patrols could last for different lengths of time and involve varying numbers of officers.

“You’ll see, as a minimum, uniform and plain-clothes officers, but we might also include officers from other departments such as dog or horse units or armed officers, depending on our specific requirements.”

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Project Servator will also see GMP officers working with British Transport Police at transport hubs or Aviation Police at airports.

The force also said that the public will play an important role in the initiative by ‘reporting anything that doesn’t feel right’, saying: “You’ll never get into trouble for reporting a genuine concern and we’ll always take your report seriously.”

For more information on Project Servator, visit the GMP website.