Greater Manchester Police has made significant improvements, bringing it to the fore as one of the most improved forces in the country as it is recognised for a second time by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.
Published on Friday 1st December, a report assessing Greater Manchester Police’s efficiency, effectiveness and legitimacy found that the force has ‘continued to improve the policing service it provides to the communities of Greater Manchester,’ whilst going on to grade the force across nine areas. Three of these areas received good ratings, five were rated as adequate, and one requires improvement.
An Accelerated Cause for Concern in December 2020 was delivered for the force following the 2020 inspection, putting GMP into special measures for almost two years. The evidence that has been presented through the most recent inspection has shown huge progress, with this helping to highlight seven areas where GMP’s practice has been promising. These are:
- Use of police power
- fair and respectful treatment of people
- Prevention and deterrence of crime
- Response to the public
- Protection of vulnerable people
- Time taken to answer 999 and 101 calls
- Carrying out effective and timely investigations
Stephen Watson QPM, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said:
“Greater Manchester Police is no longer an underperforming force. It is a force to be reckoned with – one with good leadership and management, and one which is good at preventing and deterring crime; and disrupting serious and organised crime.
“This report reiterates the success of the plan – to focus on the basics, strengthen leadership and improve performance – which propelled GMP out of special measures in the record time of just under two years in October 2022. Whilst we are delighted by the progress, it also paves the way for our next steps – which we have already begun to take. Whilst we are delighted with progress we do not believe that ‘adequate’ or ‘good’ are good enough. We want to be ‘outstanding’ – the best police force in the country. We want to consistently deliver excellent policing services to the people of Greater Manchester, enabling them to have trust and confidence in those who have the privilege of keeping them safe.
“It is evident that, in the 12 months since coming out of special measures, call handling and response policing, neighbourhood policing, and safeguarding have continued to evolve – with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary recognising promising practice in each of these areas. However, it goes without saying that our journey to improvement is ongoing and involves sustaining the progress we have already made, whilst ensuring continuous development in the highlighted areas for improvement – not least the management of sex offenders and suspects, which I can confirm has advanced since the inspection.”
Areas for improvement have also been identified, including the management of offenders and suspects, however, it has been acknowledged that progress is being made by the Public Protection Department at the time of the investigation. Evidence of this is found in the fact that the number of overdue visits and specialist risk assessments have been decreased by the Sex Offender Management Unit.
Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for Police, Crime, Fire and Criminal Justice, added:
“I know the last few years have not been easy for GMP and it has impacted public confidence in policing. I believe that people in Greater Manchester should feel confident that they now have a hard-working force, dedicated to fighting crime and keeping them safe.
“Since 2021, more crimes have been solved, neighbourhood crime and vehicle crime are falling, residential burglary has gone down by a fifth, more positive outcomes in domestic abuse cases, and homicide is down by nearly a quarter. It has taken considerable work and strong leadership to make this happen and myself and the Mayor will continue to work with GM to ensure they keep improving.”
Image credit: iStock
