Greater Manchester Police have been judged to be ‘good’ overall at keeping people safe and reducing crime.
The latest report out today from Her Majesties Inspectorate of Constabulary however paints a glum view of policing across the country in the light of government cut backs.
“Greater Manchester Police is good at keeping people safe and reducing crime. Our overall judgment is the same as last year, when we judged the force to be good.” said the Inspectorate.”
The force is committed to neighbourhood policing and its approach to tackling serious and organised crime is outstanding. The force has the necessary arrangements in place to ensure that it can fulfil its national policing responsibilities.”
However, it added “improvements are still needed in the standard of investigation and supervision. While addressing vulnerability remains its greatest priority, limitations at initial response can leave victims vulnerable to further harm.”
Nationally, The Inspectorate found the police service is not as well equipped to stop crime happening in the first place as it has been in the past.
In particular, HMIC was concerned to find an unacceptable level of the public being put at risk as a minority of forces artificially suppress demand, by ‘down grading’ emergency calls in order to justify a slower response, failing to respond to vulnerable victims and not formally classifying gangs of violent and dangerous criminals.
HMI Zoë Billingham, who led the inspection, said:
“During this inspection, we’ve seen how some forces are attempting to reduce pressure on their teams by artificially suppressing or downgrading calls upon their service, reducing their ability to take the most effective and prompt action. We think this is often an unintended consequence of recent changes forces have made, frequently in response to the challenge of austerity, and as they struggle to respond to increasing and ever changing levels of demand.
“Consequently, some basic things are not being done: we found evidence of fewer arrests being made, some crimes are being shelved without proper investigations taking place and suspects are not always being relentlessly tracked down. It is vital that police leaders take action now before these problems become more widespread and acute – so that the public are properly protected.”
Greater Manchester Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said:
“Once again GMP has been judged to be ‘good’ overall at keeping people safe and reducing crime. This is good news for the communities of Greater Manchester and is testament to the hard work of police officers and staff who remain committed to keeping our streets and homes safe.
“Nationally, HMIC warns that neighbourhood policing is being eroded with police forces struggling to cope with increased demand. The blame for this lies squarely on the shoulders of ministers who have ignored stark warnings from police leaders, including myself, and continued to cut away at local policing leaving Greater Manchester with a £180m budget hole and 2,000 fewer officers. The government can no longer be ignorant to the very real challenges facing policing. Inevitably, in Greater Manchester and elsewhere, these cuts have an impact on what police forces can do.
“However, this report does highlight some areas of concern which I will be working with the Chief Constable to address. I’m disappointed that GMP has been judged as requiring improvement for protecting the vulnerable and supporting victims – a down-grading from last year’s good rating. While it’s clear that protecting vulnerable people is a priority, with GMP’s strong partnership working with councils, NHS and other agencies, and the voluntary sector recognised by HMIC, it’s unacceptable that vulnerable people are waiting too long for police attendance, potentially putting them at further risk.
