Chief Constable of GMP resigns after force is placed in 'special measures' by inspectorate

Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Ian Hopkins has announced today (18 December) that he will 'stand down' from his post 'with immediate effect'.

The announcement comes a week after a HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report found that Greater Manchester Police failed to record one in four violent crimes and a fifth of all reported crimes, and yesterday it was reported that the force has been placed under ‘special measures’ by the HMICFRS.

The report’s author, Zoe Billingham, said there is a ‘high’ risk to the public in the region, and that urgent action is needed.

HMICFRS said about 220 crimes a day went unrecorded in the year up to June 2020.
 

Read more: GMP 'fails to record 80,000 crimes in a year' report findsPublished: 12 December 2020

Subsequently, HMICFRS has placed GMP in the ‘Engage’ stage of its monitoring process, which only happens when a force 'is not responding to a cause of concern, or if it is not succeeding in managing, mitigating or educating the cause of concern'.

In a statement today, Ian Hopkins said: “These are challenging times for Greater Manchester Police. The force has a long-term strategic plan to address the issues raised by the HMIC and I believe this plan should be led by a Chief Constable who can oversee it from start to finish.

“Considering what is best for GMP and the communities we serve, and given my current ill health, I have decided to stand down from the post of Chief Constable with immediate effect.

“It has been an honour to serve the public for 32 years, nearly 13 of which as a Chief Officer in GMP. Throughout my career I have been committed to achieving the best outcomes for the people I serve. The decision to stand down is not one I have taken lightly but I feel the time is right.

“I was due to retire in autumn 2021 and bringing that date forward assists in the timely recruitment of my successor.

“I would like to pay tribute to my colleagues and the many dedicated officers and staff I have had the privilege of working with throughout my service.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who oversees policing in the Greater Manchester area, also made a statement this afternoon in which he confirmed that he had agreed with the Chief Constable Ian Hopkins that he would step down from his post at GMP.

Mr Burnham also said: "Last week, HMICFRS published a report into GMP's recording of crime and services to victims. For a number of years GMP has been found by the inspectorate to be in need of improvement in these important areas.

"This latest report carried out in September and based on force data between April and June this year revealed an unacceptable lack of progress. The deputy mayor and I immediately accepted the report in full, apologised to victims who have ben let down and initiated a series of actions which we discussed with the inspectorate to restore public confidence."

A statement from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services said: “The level of scrutiny on Greater Manchester Police has been raised and the force has been placed in the Engage stage of the HMICFRS monitoring process. This is due to the causes of concern raised in HMICFRS’s recent reports which have highlighted the poor service the force provides to many victims of crime.

“In the Engage stage, a force is required to develop an improvement plan to address the specific causes of concern that have led to it being placed in the advanced phase of the monitoring process.

“The process is intended to provide support to the force from external organisations including the Home Office, College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs Council to assist in achieving the required improvements.”

HMICFRS has repeatedly warned GMP about its lack of crime reporting for five years, rating GMP’s crime reporting as inadequate in 2016.

Rochdale MP Tony Lloyd, who was the Police and Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester until May 2017 said (prior to the announcement of Ian Hopkins' resignation): "It is both shocking and unacceptable that GMP have been put into special measures. This is only the 2nd time to my knowledge that any police force has faced this sanction. This is a measure of the underlying issue that Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary have unearthed.

"Being a victim of crime, particularly violent crime, is a horrible experience and one where the public are entitled to be taken seriously, and taken seriously at a minimum means recording the crime, but hopefully means investigation to prevent it happening again. If crimes aren’t recorded it doesn’t give the victim any justice, but recording crime also allows police to build an intelligence pattern of where crime is happening and how to stop it. Both of these are real reasons why failure to record crime really does matter – it lets down individuals and it lets us all down. It’s now up to GMP to show that they are determined to turn a corner and give the service that officers want to give, and that the public definitely needs.

"And we need this to be put into the public domain as quickly as possible."