Senior police figures said the body-blow caused to organised crime by the EncroChat hack may have caused "instability" in Merseyside's underworld in the wake of a year marred by horrifying gun violence.
The encrypted phone network was infiltrated by Dutch and French police in early 2020, and since then thousands of criminals across Europe have been arrested and prosecuted. The UK response to the hack, Operation Venetic, has seen more than 200 drug traffickers and violent enforcers arrested in Merseyside alone.
In early 2022, Merseyside Police told the ECHO it had "seen no evidence" of a "power-vacuum" caused by the unprecedented round up of high level drug traffickers and serious criminals. However, the force appears to have changed its stance in the wake of a series of horrific shootings, including the deaths of Sam Rimmer, Ashley Dale and Olivia Pratt-Korbel within a week in August, and then Jackie Rutter in October and Elle Edwards on Christmas Eve.
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Prior to the murder of Mr Rimmer on August 6, there had not been a fatal shooting on Merseyside for more than 12 months and the number of firearms discharges were at 20 year lows. The force is also rated 'Outstanding' by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary for its work disrupting serious and organised crime.
Senior officers now believe the arrests made by the force's EncroChat taskforce may have destabilised Merseyside's underworld landscape. Deputy Chief Constable Chris Green told the ECHO many of those targeted sit at a "mid to high level" in the criminal ladder.
DCC Green said: "Common sense says this will destabilise things, and yes it will. In terms of looking back from a strategic point of view, when you go and disrupt organised crime networks as we have done, it will have a destabilising effect. That can and does result in fall outs, disputes and efforts to step up to the next level."
DCC Green said disruption relating to control of the Class A drugs market often manifest on the streets where "chaotic individuals" look to establish themselves against competitors. He said the organised crime landscape consists of "multiple layers" with criminals looking to step up to fill the gaps left by police arrests.
Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Mark Kameen told the ECHO: "These are often chaotic individuals. Some of them will be living hand to mouth with their criminal enterprise, but others will be more structured and have a hierarchy just like other businesses.
"You'll see people pass through that hierarchy and move up as time and circumstances pass. We know we have people involved in serious and organised crime here in Merseyside who have a strong global footprint. They will usually have other people carrying out the legwork but we have seen some high level criminals are more than prepared to exact revenge themselves."
To counter the risks of new criminals stepping into communities previously held by OCGs, Merseyside Police has received government funding to develop a Clear, Hold, Build strategy. The strategy sees the force work with a number of community partners to remove and disrupt organised crime in a specific area.
DCC Green said the strategy aims to "obliterate organised crime so a community can hold their area and build community cohesion to the point where it becomes so resilient criminals can't get a foothold". Following successful projects in Speke and Netherton, the Home Office allocated a further £350,000 in August last year following the murders of Olivia Pratt-Korbel, Sam Rimmer and Ashley Dale.
DCC Green told the ECHO: "You can't just arrest someone and not expect someone to fill the gap unless you do something about it. That's why the Clear, Hold, Build is so important - we have to hold the space to stop people stepping up."
Merseyside Police work with over 60 partners including the football clubs, charities and community initiatives to divert young people away from crime. ACC Kameen said this is as important as pursuing the criminals and disrupting operations.
He said: "It's a really diverse and complex landscape but we're well versed in it and don't rest. Because when things go wrong, they go really wrong. That's what we saw in August - that's how quickly something can turn.
"We had a really strong grip around a crime area, we hadn't had a gun-related homicide for 13 months and then we had three in seven days including a child. Was that predictable or preventable - no. But that's the nature of serious and organised crime."
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