Under fire cops making ‘progress’

GREATER Manchester Police (GMP) say they have made ‘further progress’ in improving the force’s response to incidents and investigation of crime, as arrest and solved crime rates have risen.

Sharing statistics from February 2023, the force said they are now the first placed force in England and Wales for the percentage of calls answered in less than 10 seconds, despite having the fourth highest call volume.

The force also said during the 12 months to February 2023, they increased arrests by over 50%, and solved crime increased by 28%.

GMP Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said the force had made ‘tremendous progress’ since it was put in special measures in December 2020 after a report revealed an estimated 80,000 crimes had not been properly recorded. GMP were taken out of the measures in October 2022, but were told they

‘still had more to do.’

February’s statistics show that since February 2022, arrests increased by 51.8% to 57,357. Solved crime also increased by 28.5% to 25,168.

The force also said the time taken to arrive at emergency calls reduced by around 10 seconds and at priority calls by around 10 minutes, compared to January. In February 2023, the average speed of answer for 999 calls was four seconds, down from one minute 22 seconds at the peak in July 2021. The average speed of answer for 101 calls was 51 seconds, down from six minutes 44 seconds.

Last month, the average time it took to attend a Grade one emergency call was nine minutes 46 seconds, down from 13 minutes 35 seconds at the peak in September 2021, according to GMP. A huge improvement was reported in the average time it took to attend a Grade two priority call, from 28 hours 45 minutes and 59 seconds in August 2021 down to one hour 45 seconds.

GMP Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods said: “The force has made tremendous progress since the journey to improvement began and we know there is still some way to go to ensure GMP is consistently delivering the outstanding service which communities so rightly expect. “When people need us most, call handlers are answering the phone quicker and officers are arriving quicker. More arrests are being made and more crimes are being solved.”