Delays have led to distress — residents

Oriel Avenue, Coppice - incident led to complaint

GMP ‘will look into the issues raised’
MORE than 15 residents of Oriel Avenue, in Coppice, have made a complaint to Greater Manchester Police over the handling of their repeated calls regarding the behaviour of a man.

The man has allegedly been involved in incidents of criminal damage and anti-social behaviour over two months.

In a letter to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Oldham police, Sikander Riaz (20), speaking on behalf of the Oriel Avenue residents, said: “We believe the Oldham Police Division and emergency call centre of the Greater Manchester Police fell below the professional standards expected of a police force.

“As a result we have been adversely affected by the undue distress, damage to property and more importantly put in danger for an unnecessarily prolonged period of time, all of which could have been prevented had the police responded properly.”

Mr Riaz speaks of an incident in which a vehicle was damaged and a house broken into in Oriel Avenue. Officers arrived almost an hour after the initial call reporting the vehicle damage.

One officer allegedly explained that mention of a “samurai sword” in one of the calls meant officers had to wait for an armed response unit.

Mr Riaz said the operator confused the word “phone” with “sword”. Police have apologised to the residents concerned.

A GMP spokesperson said a number of allegations are being investigated.


READ the full version of this story only in our print and eChron editions
Follow us on Twitter - @OldhamChronicle