Police are on target

GREATER Manchester Police is on course to meet all its targets in priority areas, according to a report by its new chief constable.

Successes in tackling gun and knife crime and work to tackle an increase in burglary were noted by Chief Constable Peter Fahy.

He said: “We have seen considerable success with the work of Operation Xcalibre, which has disrupted gang activity, and there is also an increase in the work of the Manchester Multi-Agency Against Gangs work.

“The number of firearm discharges has been halved and is at the lowest rate since 2004.

“Gun and knife crime still mainly affects young men and thankfully random attacks on the elderly or women in the street are rare and getting rarer.”

Mr Fahy also hailed figures which show that there have been 612 fewer serious violent crimes and assaults between April and August this year, and a reduction in bank and building society robberies and cash-in- transit robberies.

In the same period, GMP also seized £616,000 through forfeiture and confiscation orders, with further work under way to increase the value of the seizures.

The report also outlined a new initiative to tackle the rise in burglary seen in Greater Manchester.

He said: “In line with forces across the country, we have been experiencing a rise in burglary. A new operation is being developed that will target the burglars.

“Criminals have seen that many people leave back doors open with valuables lying about and have seen that the best way to steal a car is to take the keys from inside the house. We need the public to make those opportunities more difficult.

“People need to ensure they keep doors and windows locked and keep keys out of sight and away from doors and windows.”

But the report also highlighted a number of areas in need of further development, including improving detection rates for serious violent offences.

The Chief Constable noted that performance has been steadily improving, with an 8.8 per cent increase, but it was still off target in the early part of the year.

The report said that difficulties have been caused by changes in the way violent crime is measured, but that the force was confident it would hit the target.

The report also showed that GMP is meeting a number of public satisfaction targets, such as police response to non-emergency calls.

Chief Constable Fahy added: “It is good to see the developments being made towards reaching the targets but what is more important is the increase in the satisfaction rates that the public have in the service we provide.”