Greater Manchester Police's top cop has hailed the force's major improvement but admits there is still 'a lot to be done'. GMP was taken out of special measures on Friday after making significant progress under its new Chief Constable Stephen Watson.
It's now the most improved police force in the country after inspectors found the number of arrests and convictions had increased dramatically, the average time it responds to crimes and the average time taken to answer 999 or 101 calls had been slashed and the number of open investigations had been halved
GMP, the second largest force in the country, was placed in special measures in December 2020 after a damning inspection found that it had failed to record 80,000 crimes in a year. The scandal cost then chief constable Ian Hopkins his job.
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But now GMP has shown 'clear, demonstrable progress', His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said, meaning it no longer requires 'enhanced' monitoring. At a press conference at GMP headquarters on Friday afternoon, Mr Watson welcomed the report and thanked staff for their hard and work and commitment.
But he said the force still had a long way to go. "This is an important milestone on our journey but it no way implies that we have somehow cracked it. There is a lot to be done.
"There are frankly still too many occasions where we don't get it quite right. Where we don't quite convert an arrest into a positive outcome, or a positive outcome is achieved, but it isn't quite achieved to the satisfaction of the victim
"There is something about the quality of our investigations that still needs to improve further. Whilst our outcomes are improving and are improving more rapidly than anywhere in the country, they are not at the level we want them to be. I have no doubt those things will come, but some things are quicker to turn than others."
But Mr Watson said he believed the improvements could be sustained. "We have very much put the wheel back on the bus and GMP is powering on in a really, really impressive way, but we do want to be the best force in the country and we are some way off being in that place. But if you look at the progress that has been made in a relatively short space of time, I have no reasons to believe we can't sustain this.
"Within a large organisation working in one of the largest conurbations in the country we are always going to come up against challenges, so the world will not be perfect, but it will an awful lot better for GMP punching its weight.
"I referred to GMP when I was appointed as the sleeping giant of British policing. My assurance to you is that the giant has awoken and it is fantastic to see and it's a great privilege to lead."
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham described it as a 'good day for Greater Manchester Police'. He added: "It's a day when the people who work for GMP and the people they serve can have renewed pride and confidence in the badge."
Mr Burnham also denied claims GMP's problems came about due to a 'colossal failure of political of leadership'. He cited the Kerslake report, which examined the emergency response to the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack, and a 2020 report into child sexual exploitation, which, he said, showed the mayor's office was 'doing our job, revealing piece by piece, the picture of what we knew to be wrong'.
Mr Burnham added: "When presented with results then I made a very quick decision. It's my job to hold the force to account and I did. We made a quick change and we then began the turnaround process."
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