Officers from Cheshire Constabulary will be working hard this Christmas to ensure criminals are caught and residents are kept safe in Macclesfield during the festive period.

The Constabulary's #OpJingles campaign officially launches on December 1, with tackling domestic abuse and violence and intimidation against women and girls high on the agenda.

This includes extra patrols in Macclesfield on December 10 and December 11, which will be a Christmas party weekend.

While police staff always work their hardest to fight crime, a rise in illegal activity at this time of year is an unavoidable fact nationwide, as some get a little too carried away against the spirit of Christmas.

Across the county local policing teams will also be working with pubs, clubs and health authorities to help keep people safe on any nights out they have planned.

Also to particularly win back the trust of women and girls, a series of domestic abuse web chats are scheduled throughout December and up to New Year's Eve, with partner-on-partner violence risk increasing during the festive period.

Men are also welcome at these sessions, which can be joined here.

Elsewhere in Macc, drug dogs will accompany the extra visible police presence. Cheshire Police have claimed that plain clothes offers will also increase in Macclesfield, patrolling alleyways and secluded places.

No examples of these problematic streets have been mentioned to the public, despite an initiative to flag exactly that having launched in September.

There will also be officers visiting to licensed premises in Macclesfield, with a focus on drink spiking education and awareness for door staff.

Superintendent Laura Marler, who is overseeing the Constabulary's Christmas operation, said: "The aim of #OpJingles is to deter criminals, catch those who are responsible for crime, minimise disruption across the county and keep people feeling safe and reassured over the festive period.

"We want everyone to have a good time and enjoy themselves, and the extra measures we are putting in place for nights out will help keep people safe whilst also targeting anyone who is behaving inappropriately.

"I want to reassure people that we remain resolute in our pursuit of those who believe they are above the law will ensure they are held accountable for the crimes they have committed.

"We also want to remind people going on a night out that, what can start innocently, can end as a night in with us if too much alcohol and drug use leads to criminal activity.

"The cost of a night out can be a lot higher than the price of a meal and a few pints."

Domestic abuse at Christmas and work parties are some of the reasons why December always has some of the year's highest crime rates.

There was 195 recorded crimes for Central Macclesfield in December 2020 according to Police.UK, only one month in 2021 has had more reported crimes than then, which was October 2021. (205)

Throughout the Christmas and New Year period officers will also be targeting crimes such as robberies, burglaries and car theft – and educating people on what they can do to keep their property safe.

This is in anticipation of the number of crimes being expected to go up from last Christmas.

While the eight days from December 24 2019 to December 31 2019 saw 3095 Cheshire Police 999 calls from the public, the number fell to 2800 dials from December 24 2020 to December 31 2020.

This decline of 295 was due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to Dave McMahon, Force Control Centre Service Delivery Manager.

He revealed that Cheshire Constabulary recorded an 11% decline in calls for the whole of December 2020 from the previous year, a feat unlikely to be repeated in December 2021.

He said: "On 2 December 2020, the government made the decision to put the country into a stricter tiered system of lockdowns which commenced after the weekend commencing 4 December. In certain Tiers, specifically Tier 2 which Cheshire was placed in, hospitality settings had to close – with the exception of restaurants serving food."

"For Cheshire, this meant pubs and clubs closed for Christmas parties after the weekend of 4-6 December 2020. As a result, this had a direct impact in the number of 999 made into the force which rise at this time of the year

due to increased Night Time Economy "offences" such as violence and domestic incidents. "For the first weekend in December prior to the 2020 lockdown, 999 volumes were almost identical, but comparing the whole month of December 2020 to 2019 – 999 demand was down 11% from 12,308 to 10,948 calls. "Similarly, 101/public non-emergency calls were also down almost 6% on 2019's volumes. "Reviewing the types of incidents recorded on our system, comparing December 2020 to 2019, the biggest reductions were in; violence, being down 9.5% in part due to the reduced night time economy, road traffic collisions was also down almost 11.5% as people remained at home or working from home. "The number of people reported missing was also down 19%, and domestic abuse rates went down in Cheshire last December by 1%." A more cynical approach could note that Macclesfield Police Station was shut to the public last December, so could be another reason why overall crimes may have gone unreported last year as people didn't want to trouble the police during the peak of the pandemic, leading to a falsely-perceived decline. To also help fend off crime in Yuletide, the force will also be working in partnership with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service to warn of the dangers and consequences of drink and drug driving. The social media channels for both parties will be providing advice on how to stay safe online, and ensure you don't become a victim of cyber-crime or fraud. John Dwyer, Police and Crime Commissioner for Cheshire, added: "I know that this year has continued to be a real challenge for many residents, and I hope this Christmas period will provide some much-needed cheer. "Officers and frontline staff will be on duty helping to keep their communities safe over the festive period. Please help them to help you by following their safety advice and information." To keep up to speed with our county's coppers over the season, please look for the hashtag #OpJingles across social media, or visit this webpage. Elsewhere in local policing, time is running out to have your say over a prorposed increase in the tax precept, for which you can read more about here. Macclesfield: Have you signed up for our Friday weekly newsletter containing each week's top 10 Macclesfield news stories, and one FREE exclusive article? 930 of you have signed up already. Simply enter your email address into the shaded box below. Free from pop-up ads, or unwanted surveys, Macclesfield Nub News is a quality online newspaper which produces 25-30 stories a week for our town. As well as Twitter, you can also find us on Facebook.