Police apologise for murder search delay
POLICE took four hours to begin the search for a murdered teenager because there were no available officers, the police watchdog has found.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has apologised after it was revealed a search for a murdered teenager was delayed by four hours because there were no available officers.
Student Ellen Higginbottom, 18, was reported missing at about 7pm on June 16 last year and her body was found at Orrell Water Park in Wigan in the early hours of the following morning. Mark Buckley, 52, was jailed for a minimum of 31 years for the “chilling” attack on the teenager.
An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct found a lack of resources at GMP led to the search being delayed 13 times after she was reported missing by her father.
Responding to the report, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes said the force had lost 2,000 officers due to funding cuts, while work had become more demanding.
An IOPC spokesman said a report about Ellen being missing was graded as a priority response and should have been resourced within an hour. He added: “However, dispatching officers to the incident was delayed 13 times.”