Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has been selected for a new pilot focused on reducing serious violence, specifically knife crime, in Manchester City Centre, targeting key hotspots across the city centre.
This initiative aims to create safer spaces for residents, businesses, and visitors by deploying more officers and delivering targeted hotspot policing.
The pilot is part of the latest Home Office announcement which will see police deploy a new tool in the fight against knife crime, targeting hyperlocal areas that are most impacted.
These special zones, known as HEX due to their hexagon-like shapes, are roughly the size of 10 football pitches and are identified using police intelligence and local data to focus resources where they matter most.
HEX pilots are commencing in Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Peterborough, and London, focusing on locations where knife crime is most prominent.
Alongside the recent announcement of the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, this pilot ensures that GMP’s resources and strategies continue to evolve to meet the changing demands of Manchester city centre.
Within Piccadilly Gardens, a dedicated team has already been working hard to tackle issues head-on and between March – October 2025 saw 342 arrests resulting in 279 charges/ cautions, 511 stop searches, 37 weapons seized, and large amount of Class A and Class B drugs seized.
The Home Office pilot has provided £300,000 which will enable the dedicated team to provide further hot-spot patrolling and more CCTV as well as trialling innovative, evidence-based solutions including working with youth agencies to provide support and visibility within Piccadilly Gardens. The team will also be conducting weapons sweeps and litter picks to make the area a safer, cleaner place for visitors alongside further collaboration with support agencies addressing additional criminality associated with knife crime including anti-social behaviour.
Our City of Manchester District Commander Chief Superintendent David Meeney said: “This announcement from the Home Office enables us to invest in innovative solutions to tackle knife crime and serious violence. The consequences of these offences are serious and can ripple across communities.
“In Piccadilly Gardens, our dedicated team has been working tirelessly since its inception, but we know we cannot arrest our way out of knife crime. Working with Specialist Operations, the Transport Unit, and Operation Venture, this support allows us to partner with communities and agencies to identify problems and take action together.
“Preventing crime before it happens and targeting resources where we know issues occur is crucial to keeping our communities safe.”
Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “Knife crime devastates lives and communities and tackling it requires a commitment to long-term prevention. The new HEX pilot will help Greater Manchester Police focus resources where they are needed most and reflects the commitments set out in our Standing Together Plan, putting prevention and partnership at the core of our approach to tackling serious violence.”
“I’d like to thank officers and partners who are already working hard in Piccadilly Gardens. By combining targeted action with real support and early intervention, we can make our city region a safer, more welcoming place for everyone who lives, works and visits here.”
