How you can help us tackle serious organised crime

Can you help?

Following the fatal shootings of five people in Merseyside between August and December 2022 we have been relentlessly pursuing justice for their families.

To do this, detectives in our major crime team have worked side by side with specialist teams to gather thousands of pieces of evidence and interview hundreds of witnesses to build cases against the people we believe pulled the trigger in each murder.

Meanwhile, local policing and Matrix officers have been patrolling areas badly affected by gun and gang crime to clear the streets of criminal activity, pursue criminals responsible for drug dealing and violence, and build back confidence and resilience in the community.

Public support is vital when it comes to making a stand against serious organised crime, preventing violence and seeking justice.

Nine year old Olivia Pratt-Korbel’s killer, Thomas Cashman, was caught and jailed for life thanks, in part, to the community deciding that silence was not an option and information needed to be given to the police for justice to be done.

The murders of Elle Edwards, 23, in Wallasey in December 2022 and the fatal shootings of Ashley Dale, 28, and Sam Rimmer, 22, in August, and of Jacqueline Rutter, 53, in October, have similarly led to important information coming in from the public.

We understand how difficult telling the police something might be for some people, especially if they are concerned about gun and gang crime, or live in an area particularly affected by it.

That’s why we always encourage people to contact the independent charity Crimestoppers. They are separate from the police and are set up to receive information about crime 100 per cent anonymously. They do not ask for a caller’s name or record the call and they do not track IP addresses or locations when information is submitted online.

To find out more about the work of Crimestoppers click here Giving information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org) or call them anonymously on freephone 0800 555 111.

To stay up to date with our major crime investigations, visit our news pages here News | Merseyside Police or follow Merseyside Police on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.