High ranking Merseyside Police officers said the force is striving to make communities "toxic" to Merseyside's estimated 110 organised crime groups as it responded to increased scrutiny following the death of Olivia Pratt-Korbel.
Olivia, nine, was shot dead when a gunman, hunting 35-year-old convicted criminal Joseph Nee, followed his target through the front door of the schoolgirl's home in Kingsheath Avenue, Dovecot, and opened fire at around 10pm on Monday, August 22. One shot hit her mum, Cheryl Korbel, in the arm and fatally wounded Olivia.
That atrocity came after the firearms murders of Ashley Dale, 28, in Old Swan on August 21 and Sam Rimmer, 22, in Dingle on August 16. Olivia's murder in particular put Merseyside squarely in the spotlight of the national news agenda for the worst reasons imaginable, and questions have been been asked about whether the force is doing enough to tackle violent organised criminals.
