The nature of two New Year's Eve incidents which triggered the use of enhanced stop and search powers in a district of north Manchester can be revealed. The outbreaks of violence prompted the use of Section 60 powers for 24 hours on New Year's Day to assist GMP officers in "preventing serious violence following several violent crimes in the Harpurhey area recently'.
At the time, GMP published a map showing the area the use of Section 60 powers was targeting. The zoned area included Harpurhey shopping centre, the Asda store and McDonald's, and stretched out through Moston Vale to Greater Manchester Police headquarters.
Today, GMP have clarified the two violent incidents on New Year's Eve that prompted the triggering of the powers. In a statement, they said: "The first incident was an attack on an address where a petrol bomb was thrown at a window, this caused damage to the outer pane and failed to ignite. The second incident involved a group of males armed with bladed weapons attending an address and making threats and causing damage."
