Meet the police on the beat keeping shoppers and retailers safe in Oldham this Christmas

Oldham town centre has more boots on the ground this week as Sergeant Graham Craven and his Oldham Town Centre and Retail Crime Team step up foot patrols to deter shoplifters and rowdy behaviour while festive crowds swell. The push is part of Greater Manchester Police's wider Operation North Star, a winter crackdown that pairs nine student officers, including 15-week rookie PC Ryan Homer, with seasoned colleagues.

Council chiefs say the Safer Town Centre winter plan keeps officers in daily contact with shop staff through a direct radio link and ties CCTV control room staff to the same channel, so trouble can be spotted and met within minutes. Sergeant Craven says the aim is simple: protect tills, reassure shoppers, and stop small problems becoming big ones.

PC Homer, still in training, has spent every shift since late summer walking the same streets and says townsfolk already stop him for directions or a chat. "Helping someone find the right bus or escorting a lost child back to their parent reminds me why I applied," he told reporters shadowing the patrol.

Extra patrols will run through the New Year, with the council thanking the team for giving up Christmas leave to keep the centre watched. No specific incident numbers were released, but traders on Spindles and Market Place say the sight of regular uniforms has already calmed weekend nights.