Partnership the key to policing’s future - Fahy

Funding cuts mean radical changes are needed to get public services working more closely together, Greater Manchester’s Chief Constable believes.

Sir Peter Fahy outlined his hopes for the next three years at the latest scrutiny session held by Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd.

The forum heard that by 2017, Greater Manchester Police’s budget will have been slashed by around £173 million, leading to the loss of hundreds of officers.

Sir Peter said this has meant continuous change: “My vision is to strengthen neighbourhood policing and work with partner agencies more effectively.

“Our relationship with the public is the foundation of local policing. My challenge is to get the best out of my staff and encourage greater involvement from the public.”

The panel quizzed Sir Peter on how the budget challenges will affect the police’s work with local councils, the probation service and the NHS.

He said: “The worst-case scenario is that the police becomes a crisis service. There’s a danger that we will lose the capacity to be proactive and will only be able to react to crime.

“The other scenario is that we keep strengthening neighbourhood policing and partnership working.

“To do that we need to radically change how public services work together. We deal with the same streets and same families, so we need an integrated approach.”

Mr Lloyd said: “I personally have no doubt in Sir Peter Fahy as one of the outstanding thinkers in modern policing but also as someone who has already contributed to the necessary changes in the way the policing functions.”

The next crime commissioner’s forum will focus on the force’s professional standards. It takes place on Tuesday next week (2-3.30pm) at Rochdale Town Hall. The public can attend but are not allowed to ask questions.