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   Crime at its lowest level for more than a decade
Crime in Greater Manchester is at its lowest level for more than 10 years. The Home Office has released the annual crime figures for 2009/10, showing there have been 36,760 fewer victims of crime across Greater Manchester with a reduction in crime of almost 13 per cent. Deputy Chief Constable Simon ByrneThis compares with an eight percent reduction in crime across England and Wales. In Manchester, there has also been a drop in the number of domestic burglaries, robberies and vehicle crime thanks to a number of high-profile operations, initiatives and ambitious changes Greater Manchester Police has introduced to fight crime and make communities safer. As part of the change programme, the Force has brought in a new way of policing based around divisional Hubs. These are completely unique to Greater Manchester Police and have been influenced by the way the military run its nerve centres. Between April 2009 and March 2010, gun crime has also been significantly reduced with the number of firearm discharges down 27.4 percent, the lowest level in the last eight years. Detection rates for serious acquisitive crime, burglary, robbery, serious violent crime and domestic abuse are also up. Deputy Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: "It is pleasing to see the improvements we have made to the Force have led to a significant drop in crime that is bigger than the national average. "Our aim is to become the most effective police force in the UK and to be driven by the priorities of local people, so this drop in crime reflects our commitment to making our communities a safer place to live. "We have always had an excellent record when it comes to tackling serious organised crime but we recognised we needed to improve on the day-to-day issues that really affect people such as burglary, vehicle crime and robbery. "Thanks to a number of changes we have introduced we are now starting to see some positive results but we will not be complacent. Crime is still unacceptably high and we know we need to do more to further reduce crime and anti-social behaviour and improve public confidence. That is why we have set ourselves further challenging reduction targets over the coming year." At the end of 2009, Greater Manchester Police introduced its ambitious change programme which has led to a new policing model focused on creating larger neighbourhood teams so officers can really get into the heart of communities. Central to this has been the development of the Hubs in the Salford, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside divisions. The Hubs are a new way of co-ordinating police resources and bring together all the divisional teams under one roof to provide minute-by-minute information about crime and anti-social behaviour. Open from 7am-11pm every day, the Hubs also have a customer service desk so victims can be kept up-to-date with any crimes or incidents they have reported. The plan is to introduce Hubs on all divisions by the end of 2010. DCC Byrne added: "These changes are unique in policing - Greater Manchester Police is the only Force in the country to have these Hubs and we have brought them in so we can understand exactly what is happening in our neighbourhoods and police them better. "We recognised we were good at responding to 999 calls, but needed a better way to deal with non-emergency calls and intelligence about crime and anti-social behaviour in our communities. "In developing the Hubs, we worked very closely with the Ministry of Defence to understand how the military run its nerve centres and respond to fast-changing incidents. We looked at how they waged the war effort in Afghanistan from London, looking in particular at how they processed information about threats in a dynamic environment. We have introduced those same principles so officers can act swiftly on information and intelligence as it comes in, whether it is a 999 call or a non-emergency call, and respond quickly to any threats. "The introduction of The Hub in several of our divisions is an exciting new development and has already started to reap rewards in terms of reducing the number of wanted people, identifying and arresting key offenders and carrying out warrants. As a result, we are arresting people much quicker, detection rates are up and the streets are safer. "The ambitious change programme we have introduced is designed to improve the effectiveness of staff and more importantly improve our performance and increase public confidence. The statistics are encouraging but what is just as important is people feeling safe and reassured. "We know we are facing challenging economic times so now more than ever it is vital we protect our frontline services and get more officers into our neighbourhoods where they can do what people want them to do which is fight crime." GMPA Chairman Cllr Paul Murphy said: "It's encouraging to see that the Force is delivering reductions in almost every area of recorded crime particularly at a time when we are facing severe budget pressures. I believe factors such as new ways of working, a highly committed work force and partnership working with the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities (AGMA) have contributed to the improvements. "Clearly some areas continue to present us with challenges and for this reason, GMPA's robust and rigorous approach to monitoring and challenging performance will remain so that all Greater Manchester communities receive a continuously improving police service." Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. 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