Greater Manchester Police is carrying out a week of intensified neighbourhood policing as it looks to address the crimes that most affect local communities.

It is part of the national Neighbourhood Policing Week of Action, which runs from January 17 to 23.

The week will see more focused support for neighbourhood officers and PCSOs as they act on community intelligence, show senior officers the problems they face and engage more with residents.

Superintendent Ben Ewart said: "Our Neighbourhood Officers are at the heart of policing in Greater Manchester.

"They are the visible, friendly policing presence at a community level and very often on first-name terms with people in the communities they serve.

"It's so important we celebrate their work, back their expertise with the full weight of GMP's resources and deliver for them on behalf of the communities we serve."

PCSOs and neighbourhood officers in Oldham are tasked with improving the quality of the community as well as responding to issues. They take on tasks such as knife searches, preventing anti-social behaviour and can even take part in litter picks as they look to help clean up the area.

GMP Oldham's new chief superintendent Chris Bowen, who transferred from West Yorkshire Police in September, has a background in neighbourhood policing himself and is determined to make Oldham a safer community.

He said: "I was out on patrol recently and it was great to be out with the teams and seeing the great work they’re doing on the frontline.

"I went to all sorts of incidents, we went to domestic incidents, we went to thieves in a house, we went to a missing person, I even had a foot chase into the town centre and we caught him in the end.

"And it was really good to see how the team comes together in those kind of moments because they’ve all come to work to protect the community, all come to work to do the best job they can."

The week of action will see PCSOs and neighbourhood officers being joined by senior officers to give them a warts-and-all view of the challenges they face and the support they need.

Recently, GMP Oldham has been carrying out Operation Valiant, which has seen an increase in street patrols during the night in an effort reduce violent crime and keep residents safe.

Police suggest that people walking during the evenings should stick to well-lit areas and should avoid displaying any electronics that might catch the attention of a potential robber.