Performance and Measurement

Summary

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is one of the largest forces in the country and includes the cities of Manchester and Salford and eight metropolitan borough council areas. It has a resident population of almost 2.6 million, and an estimated eight million people visit Greater Manchester’s sporting, entertainment, business and educational facilities each year. Greater Manchester has a high concentration of sporting facilities which host major events including four premiership football clubs and Lancashire Cricket Club.

The force continues to respond effectively to serious and organised crime and major crime, and has achieved a grade of “Exceeds the Standard” for Major Crime in the HMIC’s 2008 inspection report. The force is at the forefront of tackling the terrorist threat and targeting the most serious criminals. The work of the North West counter terrorism unit is central to the national effort to protect the public.

GMP has proactively responded to the areas for improvement reported in HMIC’s 2007 inspections. The force is investing substantial resources into a change programme of work, to deliver the strategic aims, looking at the values of the organisation to ensure the force is able to deliver citizen focused services in the future. It consists of five strategic change programmes: citizen focus; excellent people; leadership; taking control of demand; and, local policing, which are complemented by change ongoing in other areas, such as the streamlining of criminal justice processes.

The principal achievements over the past year have been continued performance improvement, with 32,744 fewer victims of crime, compared with 333,776 during 2006/07. There has also been an increase in the rate of offences brought to justice. The force has piloted the introduction of public service teams in two divisions, to provide the public of Greater Manchester with a consistent and high standard of service when contacting the police. Due to their success, this is being implemented on a force-wide basis.

Neighbourhood policing is central to the force policing activity and is delivered by neighbourhood policing teams in each division, working with the public and local agencies to identify problems, issues and concerns and put plans in place to achieve lasting solutions. The force achieved a grade of ‘Meets the Standard’ for both neighbourhood policing and developing citizen focus in the 2008 HMIC inspection. High profile activity is underway to tackle anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, violent crime, burglary, robbery and vehicle crime.

Over the next three years, the key priorities and strategic aims support the vision of ‘fighting crime and protecting people’, namely: the people of Greater Manchester are safer because of the effective citizen focused services delivered to protect them, ranging from tackling anti-social behaviour through to serious and organised crime, and terrorism; the people feel safer as a result of the force’s approach to partnerships and policing based on local neighbourhoods; because they feel safe and are safer, people have greater aspiration for their local community and Greater Manchester, participating with the force in policing and partnership work, to further improve their communities; officers, staff and volunteers feel well led, valued and are skilled and motivated to provide high quality services; and the force delivers effective, efficient and economical services.