A successful operation to curb shootings in Salford has been given extra government cash.
Operation Naseby, launched in April 2020, was meant to run for six weeks.
But after 18 months it has resulted in a 60 per cent drop in shootings and a major disruption of organised crime in the city with 21 people being recalled to prison.
GMP and the council have been determined to tackle gun crime which continues to tarnish the city's reputation despite being committed by a small number of criminals.
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Getting into the faces of suspects by stopping them in their vehicles and being in hotspots for shootings has enabled police to plug a gap in intelligence gathering.
But the use of firearms remains an issue in the city.
The taskforce was set up after 26 firearms discharges, mostly involving a series of violent incidents between two rival criminal groups, had taken place in Salford during the previous 12 months.
More than 30 officers - including detectives, complex safeguarding officers, neighbourhood patrols, and pursuit-trained officers - proactively targeted and tackling offenders suspected of being involved in organised crime.
The team has made 233 arrests, 239 vehicle seizures, the recovered £500k worth of drugs, and searched over 100 homes linked to individuals involved in crime.
Weapons recovered have included a loaded handgun, a shotgun, two loaded crossbows, a number of machetes and dozens of other knives and bladed articles.
Twenty-one people have been recalled to prison, and numerous other offenders have been convicted of a range of drug, driving, and firearms offences, including several targets from the outset of the operation.
Due to a backlog of court cases due to the pandemic, a number of further cases are currently waiting to be heard.
In the last six months, five firearms discharges have been recorded - down from 15 during the six months before the operation began - and are set to continue the downward trend after 26 shootings in 2019-20 and 15 in 2020-21.
Now, an extra £95,000 has been allocated by GMP and the Home Office to fund the district's crackdown on criminal groups for at least a further six months.
Resources from GMP's Serious and Organised Crime Group, and Specialist Operations Unit will also continue to assist.
The team have worked with local agencies across Salford to safeguard vulnerable adults and children, and with Salford City Council on diverting young people away from crime.
Detective Chief Inspector Richard Thompson, of GMP's Salford district, said: "Now we are half-way through the second year of Operation Naseby it is great to reflect on the amazing success both in numbers and reductions of incidents our team have produced. Whilst the numbers alone are striking it is worthy of note that each firearms incident has the potential to become a murder and you cannot put a value on the lives saved via this crucial disruption work.
"One of the biggest gaps in our response to firearms incidents was around limited intelligence, part of the inception of Op Naseby was to proactively make opportunities to gather intelligence by being out in hot spot areas, stopping potential criminals, vehicles and attending addresses making connections and helping fill gaps in our knowledge. We have achieved some brilliant results around this and we will not stop there.
"To supplement this activity the rest of Salford District and key partners are also working together to get into schools and deliver training and diversionary activities to educate young people about the risks of gang behaviour, Project Gulf continues to work with a significant number of partners to target offenders using civil powers, injunctions and regulatory powers and our safeguarding team is actively managing and mitigating risk and protecting people on a daily basis."
Councillor David Lancaster, lead member for environment and community safety, said: "This is another success fighting back against organised gangs and steering young people away from crime. We will continue to work together to disrupt, deter and deal with those who blight our communities.
