Oldham to get more police on the streets

OLDHAM is to get more police on the beat at the expense of more prosperous boroughs in Greater Manchester.

Despite forced spending cuts of £133.7 million over the next four years — including the freezing of recruitment and a reduction in the numbers of promotions — Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside are getting 15 extra constables, Bury an extra 12, and Wigan an extra five.

By contrast, Bolton and Stockport are losing 15 constables, North and South Manchester are losing 10, Manchester city centre 80, Salford five and Trafford is unchanged.

The changes are being made next month under Greater Manchester Police’s Force Resource Allocation Formula which has been developed in consultation with local councils and MPs.

It takes into account recorded crime, population, social deprivation and the amount of hate crime and incidents.

The extra officers come on top of changes to neighbourhood policing which have put an extra 40 officers on the streets of Oldham, 48 in Rochdale and 30 in Tameside.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy told council leaders at a meeting of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities that they have improved response times, and increased customer satisfaction and confidence in local policing.

The average length of time to complete crime investigations has been cut from 55 days to less than 20.

There have been 18,140 fewer victims of crime over the last 12 months in Greater Manchester. As a result, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Police Performance Steering Group has named Greater Manchester as one of the most improving forces in the country.