Labour leave policing legacy

The new state-of-the-art event control room.

A new state-of-the-art control room used for the first time during the Labour Party Conference will create a legacy for the people of Greater Manchester.

The 2008 conference was a resounding success for Greater Manchester Police and the high level of security provided to the 15,000 delegates ensured everyone was able to enjoy the event safely.

The policing operation was funded by a special grant from the Home Office, part of which was used to fund the creation of a permanent events control room.

The control room allowed officers to effectively police all aspects of the conference 24 hours a day, and with a record 360 CCTV feeds covering all of Greater Manchester, it is the most advanced control and command facility in the UK and one of the best in Europe. In the future, it will enable Greater Manchester Police and other partner agencies to effectively deal with big events or major incidents and improve the force's ability to protect the public and fight crime.

During the conference, the events control room was visited by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Greater Manchester Police's new Chief Constable Peter Fahy who were all impressed with the new facility.

Superintendent Chris Ullah, planning co-ordinator for Operation Protector, said: "The new events control room will create a legacy for the people of Manchester.

"Not only did it greatly help us police this conference successfully, but it has given the force a fantastic facility for future events such as football matches, multiple major incidents or operations.

"We will be policing political conferences for the next three to four years, so the new control room is a very important addition to our resources."

This year's conference passed without incident, with Greater Manchester Police policing the thousands of people who took part in peaceful protests throughout the five days as well as providing a visible and reassuring presence within the island site and surrounding areas at all times.

Superintendent Ullah said: "I'm delighted with the success of the conference, which was the result of months of hard work and planning by ourselves and our partner agencies.

"The feedback we've received from delegates and the people who live and work in Manchester is that they were very impressed with the policing of the event and the friendly and helpful attitude of officers which is also pleasing. Our aim was always to provide a high level of security without being intrusive and I believe we achieved that.

"I would also like to thank the public for their support.

"We now look forward to policing future political conferences over the next few years."