Greater Manchester Police 'failed to record a fifth of crimes'

Greater Manchester Police failed to record 80,100 crimes in the 12 months up to June this year, a watchdog has said in a damning report.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary estimates that the force recorded just 77.7 per cent of reported crime.  

The report also found that around 220 crimes a day on average weren't recorded between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, as well as about a quarter (one in four) of all violent offences - thus failing to protect many vulnerable victims.  

The review also found that officers prematurely closed some investigations on the basis that the victim did not support police action - particularly in domestic abuse cases, where seven in 10 were closed on this basis. 

'The service is a serious cause of concern' 

HM inspector of constabulary Zoe Billingham said: “Victims of crime are too often being let down by Greater Manchester Police. The service provided to victims, particularly those who are most vulnerable, is a serious cause of concern.

“This is extremely disappointing given that HMICFRS has been urging Greater Manchester Police to improve in this area since 2016. Failure to record crimes potentially prevents victims from receiving the justice and support they need.

“I am deeply troubled about how frequently the force is closing cases without a full investigation, giving the reason that the victim did not support police action. In too many of these cases, the force didn’t properly record evidence that the victim supported this decision – particularly in cases of domestic abuse, where seven in 10 are closed on this basis.

“While it is simply not good enough that these concerns have not been addressed for over four years, I acknowledge that the force is taking action to address these deficiencies.”

You can read the full report by clicking here. 

A further inspection will take place in six months.

GMP - which is the second largest police force in England - is responsible for policing in Tameside and Oldham. 

'We treat this matter very seriously' - How GMP has responded 

Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling says the force is 'disappointed' with some aspects of the report 'particularly where we have let victims down' but has a 'robust' plan to address the issues. 

In a detailed statement issued by GMP, he said: "We welcome inspection and scrutiny as we are committed to providing victims of crime with the highest standards of service. We are obviously disappointed by some of the findings in the report, particularly where we have let victims down. However,  I want to reassure the public that we treat this matter very seriously. We have a long term strategic plan in place to address these issues and that we are determined to make whatever other short term improvements we need to make and to make them as quickly as possible.

"Although we acknowledge there has been a deterioration in some elements of recording since the last inspection, we have made huge improvements in some elements including rape, sexual offences and many areas of volume crime which are now recorded by our centralised unit. These improvements are part of our long term strategy which has seen the implementation of our new computer system and the significant progress towards centralisation of the control room and crime recording function. It is only by centralising these functions that we can truly deal with these issues in a sustainable and affordable way. 

"We would like to highlight that this inspection examined calls, incidents and crimes recorded in spring, whilst the force was in the middle of making and embedding many of these strategic changes including the centralising of elements of crime recording and the control rooms. The force was also facing the unprecedented and changing challenges posed by the first Covid lockdown. This meant that we were unable to recruit and train the additional staff we required to progress the centralised crime recording function in the timescales we would have wished. 

"Since spring, there is strong evidence of improved crime recording rates in many relevant areas, so progress has already been made. For example, since June 2020, GMP has increased crime recording rates for domestic abuse by 18 per cent, stalking and harassment by 33 per cent and coercion and control by 30 per cent. We would also like to highlight other findings in the report, which are extremely positive - including our crime recording rates for rape and sexual offences, which have increased.

"The force has also significantly reduced the amount of time taken to answer 101 calls and, subsequently, the abandonment rate - this is despite of the impact Covid has had on resources and staffing.   Around half of these unanswered non-emergency calls can be attributed to callers hanging up and electing to make use of the force's online reporting. This is actively encouraged by a recorded message and represents effective call and demand management.

"I can reassure the public that the issues identified in the report have been treated very seriously and reflected upon and we have robust plans to implement any outstanding learning and secure the best possible outcomes for victims going forward. This will be supported by robust governance and strategic leadership oversight. The safety and wellbeing of the public, as well as maintaining their confidence, under pins all that the force does."

'GMP must now move quickly to make improvements'

Beverley Hughes, Greater Manchester's Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime and Criminal Justice, says residents across the region should be reassured that processes have improved since the period which the report covers but insists that improvements must continue to be made quickly.

She said: “It is absolutely critical that the general public has faith in the processes used by the police to record incidences of crime. Some of the findings in this HMICFRS report are extremely disappointing and I have communicated my feelings to the Chief Constable at Greater Manchester Police (GMP), who must now move quickly to make improvements.

“GMP has already developed a detailed action plan that they are working through and I am receiving regular updates about the progress of this plan. In terms of domestic abuse, stalking and harassment, and controlling and coercive behaviour offences, poor performance had been identified as part of the action plan and, as a result, there have been increased levels of recorded crime for these areas over recent months.

“Greater Manchester residents should be reassured that the period of time covered by the HMICFRS report was some months ago and there is clear evidence that current processes have significantly improved since June 2020. This is partially due to the creation of a Crime and Incident Recording Centre of Excellence earlier this year, which provides a co-ordinated approach to improving all aspects of crime and incident recording.

“At the core of the police’s work must be the accurate and timely recording of crimes so the people of the city-region can both be kept safe and feel safe. We must ensure that victims of crime get the services and support they need when they need them. GMP has made it clear to me that the issues identified are being taken very seriously and robust plans are in place to build on the recent improvements made.”