A former police officer has told the BBC that he wouldn’t feel confident reporting a crime to his own police force.”
Former GMP officer Scott Winters told Newsnight that he could not wait to leave the force in 2017 after 28 years of service.
That is not to say GMP is a failing force,” he said. “It is a force comprised of many thousands [of] genuinely hard-working, committed, brave, talented, professional people.”
Winters said that the force he loved working for had become one that put its reputation ahead of tackling problems.
He described police watchdog’s findings last year which placed the force in special measures as “dire”, “unforgivable” and “abysmal”.
The watchdog found that GMP had failed to record about 80,000 crimes in a 12-month period and closed cases without proper investigation.
It resulted in the resignation of its then Chief Ian Hopkins and his replacement by Stephen Watson who has promised that vital improvements in the force would be made rapidly.
The programme also heard criticism of the Integrated Operational Policing System (iOPS), with a former detective saying that “It felt like it had been designed by someone who had never been a police officer and never worked on the streets,”
In a statement made to the BBC, Chief Constable Watson acknowledged that part of the iOPS system had “presented significant challenges” to GMP but it was under review and upgrades and improvements had been made.
He said the force “remains absolutely committed to protecting children, young people and all vulnerable people in our community.
Some of the historic investigations, by their very nature are distressing, time-consuming and present multiple and complex difficulties for all involved and affected by the case.
“We are nonetheless determined to conclude our investigations thoroughly and to the evidential standards required to bring offenders to justice,” he said.
