We will double arrest rate, new police chief warns criminals
THE Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police has vowed to double the number of arrests his officers make after conceding that too many criminals had been “getting away with it”.
Stephen Watson took over the force in May after a damning report found it had been ignoring almost a quarter of all offences.
Speaking at a town hall event hosted by Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Watson promised to build a new crime-fighting force, in what was described as a “watershed moment”.
He added: “In the next 18 months, we will double the number of people subject to the criminal justice process.”
He said that for too long too many criminals had been “getting away with it” and promised a “surge activity” to ensure more arrests.
Mr Watson said: “If someone drives off a forecourt having not paid for petrol and we can identify them, we will find them and arrest them.”
Earlier this year Mr Watson said his force would investigate every single burglary and bring an end to screening out “minor crimes”.
Mr Watson has also promised to ferociously tackle organised crime groups telling them: “We will take your cars and we will take your cash and we will take your houses.”
He even warned of a crackdown on uninsured drivers and people who illegally park in disabled bays and said people who ignored motoring laws were “going to lose their vehicles in droves”.
Mr Burnham said the proposals would “take GMP into a new era of greater openness”.
The Mayor hailed Mr Watson’s delivery as “the best presentation I’ve ever heard from anybody representing GMP”.
He said: “I think it is a watershed moment for Greater Manchester Police. We do need to look to the future. We’ve gone over the past, but today is a moment to look to the future.”
He added: “It is a plan to take Greater Manchester Police into a new era of greater openness, transparency, and stronger scrutiny, and accountability. And I am absolutely clear that that is where we are going.”
Mr Watson, who previously ran the South Yorkshire force, was appointed to the GMP after it was placed in special measures by the police watchdog following a stinging report last December.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary revealed the force had failed to record 80,000 crimes. Ian Hopkins, who had been chief constable since 2015, stepped down after Mr Burnham came under pressure to sack him.
Mr Watson admitted morale was not high among the 6,800 staff, but promised to implement his new plan at pace.
He added: “I have no doubt that our people are equal to the challenge. What has kept our people from delivering, as they want to do, has been a failure of senior leadership.
“And that’s what we’re here to do. Our people are fed up but they are not defeated. They are fed up with GMP being slapped about, because of our own poor performance.”
He admitted that it would be difficult to earn back the trust of those who have lost faith in his force.
He said: “It’s something which either exists, or it doesn’t. And if it’s broken, it can’t be put back together. So we have to preserve the trust that we have, we have to build on it.”