Beat bobbies slash crime

Neighbourhood police spending has dramatic impact
A £14.5 million drive to improve neighbourhood policing in Greater Manchester has dramatically slashed offences in the most crime-ridden areas — including Alexandra and Coldhurst, Hollinwood, and St Mary’s in Oldham.

The three wards were declared priority neighbourhoods in 2008 as part of Greater Manchester Police’s neighbourhood policing initiative which hired an extra 104 officers thanks to an agreement by council leaders to fund the idea for three years.

In all but minor assaults, it has cut crime impressively in the three areas.

Alexandra and Coldhurst had a 40 per cut in serious violent crime from 2009 to the present day, St Mary’s figures went down by 22.7 per cent over the same period, and Hollinwood’s fell by 14.3 per cent.

Burglary, robbery, and car theft went down by 14.9 per cent, and anti-social behaviour incidents by 33.9 per cent in St Mary’s.

The only bleak result was an increase of 29.7 per cent in minor assaults in Hollinwood.

And although Oldham had one of the highest satisfaction rates with the police in Greater Manchester in 2009, a 1 per cent fall at the beginning of the year has put it slightly below the force average of 81.5 per cent.

The neighbourhood police officers worked with Community Safety Partnerships, made up of local people and council officials.

Oldham Council leader Howard Sykes and fellow council leaders at a meeting of the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities were told by GMP Assistant Chief Constable Terry Sweeney that the results were so impressive that the success was being heralded nationwide, and the model was being adopted by several forces in the South-East.

Greater Manchester Police Authority chairman Councillor Paul Murphy said that crime was now at a 12-year low.

He said: “This was not a police initiative, this was an initiative about neighbourhoods and clearly works extremely well.

“It is very popular all over Greater Manchester. “