Greater Manchester Police to get 176 extra neighbourhood officers - with the first on the beat in six months
The news has been 'greatly welcomed' by force bosses, with the first recruits set to be on the beat within six months
An extra 176 neighbourhood officers will soon be deployed across Greater Manchester. It comes as Prime Minister Keir Starmer outlined a plan to put 'thousands of bobbies back on the beat'.
Funding for 13,000 new beat officers; PCSOs; and Special Constables across the country by 2029 was announced today Thursday (April 10).
The Home Office says its 'neighbourhood policing guarantee' will ensure there are named officers in every district. A guarantee of patrols during the busiest periods in town centres and 'hotspot' areas - such as on Friday and Saturday nights - has also been made.
The first batch of new frontline officers in our region will be on the streets within six months. A total of 120 new officers will be recruited in Greater Manchester.
GMP also plans to use extra cash to redeploy 56 officers to neighbourhood teams, meaning a total of 176 extra officers on the beat.
Chief Constable Stephen Watson told the Manchester Evening News it was 'very good news'. He said that 'neighbourhood policing over the years has suffered somewhat and as a result, we've lost connection with the public and our ability to deal with recurrent demand'.
Chf Con Watson said as recently as 2021, the force's neighbourhood policing 'had reduced literally to the point that [it was] reliant purely on PCSOs'.
But he said he had delivered on a promise to 'resurrect' neighbourhood policing, with some 790 officers having now been put back on the frontline in the region following a change to the force's operating model in 2023.
And, he said, they would now be able to 'add very substantially to that'.
Chf Con Watson was installed in 2021 to turn around what was a failing force. He promised to step aside if he failed, but he succeeded. The force was removed from special measures in 2022. The upturn was credited to his 'back to basics' policing, including a focus on neighbourhoods.
The new officers will 'enable [the force] to do more of the things that are starting to make a difference, Chf Con Watson added, citing Operation Vulcan and the smashing of 'Counterfeit Street' as an example.
"What this helps us to do is to sustain that, accelerate that, and frankly, make it bigger and bolder," he added. He admitted 'confidence was a lagging indicator' and that the force still has 'a lot of work to do' to rebuild trust with the public.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said neighbourhood officers were the 'bedrock' of policing and that the increase was 'very welcome'. He agreed that in many areas GMP still had work to do regain the confidence of the public. The force currently has around 8,200 officers, now above the 2010 level of around 8,000.
ACC Boyle said the force already takes neighbourhood policing 'extremely seriously'. Overall crime is down 7.2 per cent in the last 12 months with 25,000 fewer crimes and over 18,500 fewer victims, the force says.
There have been around 350 fewer burglaries each month, compared to 2021. GMP claims to be 'one of the best forces in the country at answering 999 calls' - at an average of two seconds, down from 47 seconds in 2021.
The new extra officers, ACC Boyle said, would ensure the force will continue to 'react and respond to priorities set by the community' - including burglary, robbery, anti-social behaviour, knife crime and road safety.
"This is becoming the natural way of policing," he added. "Listening to our communities, identifying their priorities and putting meaningful solutions in place to make their communities safer and nicer places to live and work.
"I think the public want more neighbourhood policing. I think it's the right thing to do. I personally see it as the continuity of policing. A named officer in every ward, a named officer in a town centre... someone who the community can go to, build relationships with, build trust [with] and have true conversations about what matters the most.
"Our job is to make the best use of those officers. It's about preventing crime, reducing crime and disorder and getting better outcomes for victims of crime."
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham told the M.E.N: "It's a proud day for Greater Manchester as the government is pointing to here saying that the model of neighbourhood policing that we have built from the bottom up is a model that others should follow.
"The police number side of it really needed to be fixed. When I came in as mayor, in 2017, I started to reverse the cuts to the frontline. I had to ask residents for help with that via council tax, but we did that.
"The last government helped as well, and now this one, and it means we've got numbers back above where they were when the cuts started in 2010 and that's a fantastic place for Greater Manchester Police to be in."
'The heartbeat of our great policing tradition'
The Prime Minister said shoplifting and anti-social behaviour had 'wreaked havoc on our neighbourhoods'. A dedicated anti-social behaviour lead in every force is now expected to develop tailored action plans with residents and businesses.
Sir Keir said: "Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure on the streets they call home. It is just about the most basic right that anyone would expect.
"Yet for years, crimes such as shoplifting and antisocial behaviour have wreaked havoc on our neighbourhoods. Policing has become reactive, picking up the pieces after crimes have occurred. Britain deserves better.
"It should not matter where you live – everyone deserves local, visible policing they can trust, and with our neighbourhood policing guarantee, we will end this postcode lottery, putting prevention back at the heart of policing and ensuring police are back on the streets.
"That's why our plan for change is delivering security for working people in their communities with a return to neighbourhood policing, putting thousands of bobbies back on the beat and keeping people safe."
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The heartbeat of our great British policing tradition is seeing bobbies on the beat, but for too long, too many communities have been feeling abandoned as crime soared and neighbourhood police disappeared, even when local crimes like shop theft, street theft or blatant drug dealing rose sharply.
"It should not matter where you live – everyone deserves local, visible policing they can trust, and with our plan for change and neighbourhood policing guarantee we will tackle this postcode lottery and restore policing to our communities."