Power to the people

AS Greater Manchester’s top policeman, Peter Fahy has the difficult task of putting in place measures to bring down crime and make the region a safer place. The new chief constable spoke exclusively to the Chronicle’s Richard Hooton about his priorities and how he plans to re-ignite public trust . . .

“WHEN I came to Oldham before I got the job, I talked to a particular response officer who was complaining about the amount of paperwork,” said Mr Fahy.

“He said he was not trusted by the community and could not spend much time on the streets.

“My priority is to come back having dealt with those problems with that officer feeling he can get out and serve the public as he believes they want to be served.”

The anecdote sums up what Greater Manchester’s new chief constable wants to achieve and his priorities for the area.

As reported in yesterday’s Chronicle, the top cop wants to free his officers from red tape so they can get out on to the streets and fight crime on the frontline.

Mr Fahy has pledged to reduce paperwork and focus on the priorities of local communities rather than national targets.

He wants the public to trust their local bobbies and pass on information so they are united in cleaning up their area and being proud of their community.

The 49-year-old father-of-four made the startling admission that, despite crime levels falling, he views them as “unacceptably high.”

To keep the fall in crime rates going, he wants to continue the good work of his predecessor Michael Todd in reducing violent crimes and shootings but also reverse a rise in burglaries, caused by an increase in opportunist thefts.

Serious crime has dropped thanks to 104 extra officers, paid for by an increase in the police precept, being brought into front line neighbourhood policing roles. But Mr Fahy concedes more must be done and he is not resting on his laurels.

“People will be sceptical and waiting to see if local officers stay in the area and build relationships,” he said.

He added that residents will want to see anti-social behaviour decreasing and those they know are involved in crime being prosecuted before they are satisfied things are getting better.

But Mr Fahy is prepared to be patient as his officers build up a level of trust with the public and inspire confidence.

He said: “We want less graffiti and fewer gangs of young people hanging out in a threatening way.

“These are things that make people feel their area is going downhill and it makes them feel powerless.

“There’s a great public thirst for visibility of officers but it’s also important they are out and about when the crimes are happening. Because of the alcohol culture, that can be late at night when people might not be out to see them.”

He points out that the public don’t always see much of the work police do on the streets, from late-night operations to undercover and surveillance work.

More increases in council tax to provide even more extra officers are not planned though.

He said: “I’m conscious that these are hard times for a lot of people. Council tax increases are hard to bear so it’s crucial we demonstrate to the public that we are giving good value for money and that people see a difference in their local area.

“It’s very hard to ask people for more money unless I’m convinced we are making best use of what we have got.”

But talk of hard times also brought a warning that a recession can cause crime rates to rise.

Mr Fahy pointed out that people are not only more likely to be driven to crime during difficult times, but criminals on release from prison will have less opportunity for employment and could fall back into bad ways.

He accepts drugs and the potential for gun crime to spread into Oldham is a considerable worry but says much has been done to tackle gangs who deal in such activities.

“It’s very important that we do all we can to disrupt the drug trade,” he said. “The reductions in gun crime in Greater Manchester are quite dramatic. There are young lads walking about today but would not have been if the police had not done what they have. We have to keep that up and can’t be complacent about that.”

He accepts there has to be targets, bureaucracy and statistics so that the Force can be held to account but says it needs to be done in an intelligent way so that officers are not overburdened and the public can still influence priorities.

“Home Office ministers are saying the right things, as are senior judges, so it’s up to the Force itself to take that forward,” he said.

“The main people I need to be talking to are colleagues in the criminal justice system, courts and the CPS.

“We have had a good start with them and have very ambitious plans to put in place.”

Mr Fahy admitted his task is huge, with every borough having lots of different communities to get to know and his new job receiving more political and press interest.

He has the challenge of facing major incidents every day - but says the most important part of policing is day to day neighbourhood incidents.

“The key thing is that the public are seeing their area is getting safer,” added Mr Fahy.