New Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable says turning force around is his biggest challenge yet
ITV News North of England Reporter Hannah Miller speaks to the new Chief Constable of GMP about the challenges that lie ahead for the force
The new Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police has said turning the force around is the biggest challenge he has ever faced.
His comments come after a report found a 'large cultural shift' will be needed to make improvements to the struggling force.
Stephen Watson previously served as Chief Constable in South Yorkshire and is credited with having turned the force around in the aftermath of the Hillsborough inquests.
He said he has "100% confidence" it will be possible to do the same in Greater Manchester, England’s second biggest police force.
"The people of GMP are as good as they are anywhere, and there’s nothing that I’m seeing that doesn’t give me 100% confidence that we will turn GMP around in exactly the same way as we did with South Yorkshire," he said.
ITV News has learnt there are more than 75,000 open crimes to be investigated by the force – thought to be the highest number in its history.
One officer said the volume of crime is "practically impossible" to get through, before adding: "you can’t see the wood for the trees in terms of risk".
Stephen Watson admitted to ITV News people may be at risk because of the backlog in the system, but says "checks and balances" do exist to try to expedite cases when risks become apparent.
He added that the increasing number of open crimes is partly because the force is now looking at incidents that would have previously been screened out.
Nevertheless, the Chief Constable pledged on Friday to investigate all reasonable lines of inquiry within the 75,000 cases. He said he wants to deliver justice wherever possible, though he has a job to convince victims who have been waiting for months.
Alice, not her real name, was 16 when she was subjected to a series of sexual offences, which she and her mum reported in August 2020.
A man was arrested and then sent death threats, in violation of his bail conditions.
Alice has been supported by the Maggie Oliver Foundation, but says had no contact from police for nine months and continues to struggle to get in touch with anyone for an update.
The Chief Constable has told ITV News he is willing to take the case up personally, as her treatment "doesn’t sound at all acceptable".
The source of the backlog is widely thought to be ongoing problems within the force’s long-troubled IT system, specifically an element called PoliceWorks.
The report released by Greater Manchester Combined Authority this morning documented "anger" and "frustration" among officers who feel the system puts both them and victims at risk.
Chief Constable Watson has said he will make a decision on whether to fix or replace the system within "weeks not months."
On Friday morning, as Chief Constable Watson set out his plan for improvement, he told ITV News problems facing the force "could have been avoided".
Friday has been billed as 'the beginning of GMP’s recovery' - but for many victims and officers there is still a long way to go.