‘We focus on most serious incidents’
GMP’S assistant chief constable Rob Potts said in a statement: “We prioritise our workload to focus on the most serious crime which represents the greatest threat, harm and risk to the public.
We also make decisions on investigations based on “solvability factors” which basically assesses the realistic likelihood of a positive outcome to ensure we maximise the impact of what are public resources at a time when reported crime has significantly increased. In many crimes there are no witnesses, CCTV or forensic opportunities, which means there are often no leads for the officer to investigate further.
“Where strong lines of enquiry exist, officers will investigate and we rely on the public to help us do this by reporting suspicious activity or telling us about anybody they know who is involved in crime. The fact that we choose not to continue certain investigations following an initial assessment does not mean that no positive action is taken.
Investigation is only part of the support available to victims of crime; the Victim Services Partnership in Greater Manchester helps support and signpost victims of crime.
“I cannot emphasise enough that it remains vital that the public report all crime to the police; the overall picture of crime is carefully considered when targeting offenders and crime hot-spots.”