CONVICTED street robbers are helping the police in their fight against crime.

The prisoners -- from throughout Greater Manchester -- are being interviewed in jail as part of an operation to combat street crime codenamed Operation Hawk.

Greater Manchester Police have commissioned researchers in the hope that the findings will give them an invaluable insight into the mind of the criminal.

By interviewing criminals, officers believe they can gain a better understanding as to why a victim is selected, how and why an offender selects his or her "patch" and what their views are on their victims who attempt to resist their threats.