Merseyside gangs crackdown sees tip-offs rise since Olivia murder

Olivia Pratt-Korbel was shot dead in her home in Dovecot in August 2022

Tip-offs about crime in Merseyside have risen since the murder of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, police say.

A project to "dismantle" criminal gangs was launched by police after the nine-year-old was shot dead at her home in Liverpool.

Officers leading the operation said intelligence from the community had increased by 78%.

In the wake of her murder, Olivia's family urged people not to think of helping the police as being a "grass".

The Evolve scheme has seen knife crime and wounding fall by 57% and arrests up 16% since it began in August 2022, following the murders of Olivia and Ashley Dale and the fatal shooting of Sam Rimmer.

Merseyside Police Ch Insp Tony Fairhurst said: "We want to see these changes and the shift in attitude towards serious and organised crime - and those embroiled in it - become embedded in these communities."

Ashley Dale was not the intended target of the shooting

Over a week in August 2022, Olivia died at her home in Dovecot, Ms Dale, 28, was killed in Old Swan and 22-year-old Mr Rimmer was shot in Dingle.

The Evolve operation initially focused on the Dovecot, Page Moss and Huyton areas of Liverpool and Knowsley.

Overall crime has fallen by 6%, and a 12% increase in violence with injury cases - including domestic abuse reports - reflects increased confidence in the force, Merseyside Police claimed.

Merseyside police commissioner Emily Spurrell said: "Over the past 12 months, Evolve has made a vast improvement to the lives of people living in Liverpool and Knowsley: hundreds of arrests, dangerous weapons seized, stolen property recovered, and drugs removed from the streets."

Thomas Cashman was jailed for a minimum of 42 years for Olivia's murder and Niall Barry, James Witham, Sean Zeisz and Joseph Peers all received minimum sentences of more than 40 years for their roles in the killing of Ms Dale.

Mr Rimmer's death remains under investigation.