Crime down by 13% across Greater Manchester

Deputy Chief Constable Simon Byrne

Annual crime statistics for Greater Manchester have been released today (Thursday 15 July 2010) showing a 13 per cent reduction in crime compared with last year's figures.

The figures show that there has been 36,760 fewer victims of crime across Greater Manchester.

Key reduction figures include vehicle crime, which is down by 19.5 per cent. Domestic burglary down by 15.25 per cent and violence against the person has been reduced by 9.3 per cent.

Between April 2009 and March 2010 gun crime has also been significantly reduced with the number of firearms discharges down 27.4 per cent, the lowest level in the last eight years.

Overall figures for 2009/10 show the total offences as 246,416 compared to 283,176 in 2008/2009.

Deputy Chief Constable Simon Byrne described the figures as ‘good news’ he said: “This is a good news story, crime is at its lowest in 10 years. The amount of day to day crime has fallen. However we are not complacent and we do recognise that we have more to do. Those figures are still too high.”

Mr Byrne explained that over the next 12 months a key area for Greater Manchester Police is to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Deputy Chief Constable Simon Byrne added: "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."

As crime figures have reduced the number of arrests made have increased, Mr Byrne said is because more people are behind bars are not given the opportunity to commit crimes. The work done locally to help people keep their cars and homes secured has also contributed to the decrease.

GMPA Chairman Councillor 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."

A new style of policing currently being rolled out across Greater Manchester which includes a ‘hub’ which is a central place for the police to deal with crimes and respond much faster than before has also played its part in the crime reduction.

This method of policing is already in place in Rochdale and the hub is a place to gather information and then pass on the information to relevant bodies and authorities to make police responses speedier.

One area of crime which has increased is sexual crime.

Most serious sexual crime has gone from 2,339 in 2008/09 to 2,368.

Other sexual offences have increased from 553 to 569.

Mr Byrne said: “Of course this is a cause of concern any crime is awful especially sexual crime. However those increases are likely to appear because more people are coming forward and feeling confident enough to report those crimes.”

Annual crime statistics 2009/10