Crime and safety news

Oldham Police are walking the town-centre beat through the Christmas rush, telling traders and shoppers they will stay visible until the tills close. Their promise came on 23 December 2025, the last shopping Tuesday before the holiday, when officers spent the day moving between Spindles and Market. Hall spelling out the plan: more foot patrols, quicker radio links to shop security, and nightly checks on the taxi rank on Union Street.

The council and police have already shut one persistent trouble spot. On 20 December 2024 magistrates granted a three-month Closure Order on a terraced house in Waterhead after residents logged 25 calls about drug dealing, late-night rows and visitors kicking in front doors. Officers who secured the order called it 'the best Christmas present' the street could have had; the property must now stay boarded until Easter unless the owner convinces the court the nuisance will not return.

Food safety teams have also tightened the net on childcare premises. Oldham Council prosecuted a local nursery and its two company directors on 29 November 2024 when inspectors found dirty nappy bins stored next to food prep areas and a fridge running 3 °C above the legal limit. The firm was fined £3,200 and ordered to pay £2,500 costs, a total of £5,700 that must reach the court by 31 January.

Elsewhere, a private-hire driver kept accepting fares after the council suspended his licence in September. Enforcement staff traced him through his booking app and brought a case at Tameside Magistrates' Court on 26 September 2024. He left with a £2,000 fine, £2,600 in costs and a victim surcharge, adding up to £4,668, and his licence has now been formally revoked.

The town's hate-crime message is being refreshed ahead of National Hate Crime Awareness Week starting 12 October 2024. Police and volunteers will hand out reporting cards in Urdu, Bengali and Polish at Friday's market, stressing that any attack linked to race, religion, disability, sexuality or gender identity can be reported 24 hours a day at the library help desk or online.