Greater Manchester Police closing specialist sex crime unit

Chief Constable Ian Hopkins

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is closing its specialist sex crime unit, the force has confirmed.

GMP said officers from its Serious Sexual Offences Unit (SSOU) are being deployed at a local and borough level.

The move will help specialist officers work more closely with local partners to support rape victims, said a force spokesman.

Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "GMP takes the investigation of sexual offences extremely seriously. We have specially trained detectives who work with victims to investigate allegations.

"We work in partnership with, and provide financial support to St Mary's, the best sexual assault referral centre in the country. We also work at a City and Borough level with Independent Sexual Violence Advisors. This is all designed to provide the best possible support to victims of sexual violence.

"Policing has changed dramatically over the past seven years. We have responded to the challenges of having 2,000 fewer officers and to the changing nature of crime with a very clear plan for the future of policing in Greater Manchester.

"This commits us to working in a much more integrated way with partners, which is in line with the Greater Manchester public service reform principals. It also means placing as many officers and staff at a local and Borough level as possible and only centralising capability where it is so specialist it is not cost effective to provide it any other way.

"We have moved specialist detectives to a Borough level, in line with our operating model, to work much more closely with those partners who also provide significant support to victims.

"The same specially trained detectives will be investigating sexual violence at a Borough level. We have strengthened the governance around these investigations by dedicating four Detective Superintendents across the Force to take responsibility for those detectives and the investigations in support of local policing.

"The reality is that there has been no central team investigating sexual violence for seven months.

"To clarify, this has not reduced the number of officers investigating serious sexual offences it has merely moved their experience to help across the force area."