Two men involved in gang-related activity in Wirral have been issued with two-year gang injunctions at Liverpool County Court.
Kieran Salkeld, aged 29, from Beechwood and Jake Duffy, aged 23, also from Beechwood have been served with gang injunctions which they were made subject to on Monday 25 August 2023.
The conditions of the order mean Salkeld and Duffy are prohibited from:
- Associating and communicating with named persons by any means
- Entering the Woodchurch or Beechwood/Ford Estates
- Entering any on-licensed premises on Conway Street or Argyle Street in Birkenhead
- Entering The Lighthouse Public House in Wallasey Village, Wallasey including any outside space within the boundary of the premises
- Either directly or indirectly using or threatening to use violence against any person or property including via phone or internet
- Either directly or indirectly engaging in any abusive or threatening conduct including via phone or internet
- Owning or having with him more than one mobile phone and sim card
- Owning or having with him any mobile phone or sim card that has not been disclosed
Any breaches of the conditions can result in either of the men being arrested and taken to court.
Salkeld and Duffy are currently serving sentences for an incident on 23 December 2022, where a man was assaulted in Rock Ferry.
Salkeld was sentenced to 27 months for assault and nine months for affray to run concurrently while Duffy was sentenced to two years for assault and nine months for affray also to run concurrently.
Merseyside Police is proactively targeting gang-related activity in the Birkenhead area and recently launched EVOLVE Wirral, a Home Office-based initiative designed to help and regenerate areas worst affected by serious and organised crime.
Chief Inspector Tom Welch, one of the senior officers involved in EVOLVE Wirral, said, “Gang-related activity has a profoundly detrimental effect on those who live or work in areas where these criminals carry out their business, often recklessly with complete disregard for others.
“The gang injunctions that have been served on Duffy and Salkeld are part of the ongoing and relentless work we are doing to combat serious and organised crime in Birkenhead.
“The prohibitions detailed in these injunctions are widely known by our local officers and will be policed rigorously.
“If either man commits a breach, we can act quickly to arrest them and put them back before the courts, which can result in prison sentences.
“We are using all the powers and legislation available to us to disrupt and deter gang-related activity but we cannot do this alone and need communities to tell us about any criminal on-goings happening in their area so we can get criminals off our streets.
“Together we are always stronger. I urge members of the public to come forward with information about those involved in organised crime and criminal activity so we can continue to take robust action against the organised crime groups who bring misery to our streets.
“On Monday we launched our Silence is Not an Option campaign and we ask people to contact Crimestoppers anonymously with any information that can help us to make our communities safer for generations to come.”
Anyone with information can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or can contact Merseyside Police directly at @MerpolCC or by calling 101.
Image: (L-R) Jake Duffy and Kieran Salkeld
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