Inspectors 'fear for public safety' after another critical report into Greater Manchester Police
Andy Bonner has the latest on a critical report into Greater Manchester Police's performance.
The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police has "humbly" apologised after a new highly critical report into the force's performance.
The report said GMP was still failing to improve how it responds to vulnerable victims of crime, prompting concerns for public safety.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) issued the warning after the latest in a series of inspections it has carried out on the force's performance.
Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said: "Greater Manchester Police has a critical duty to keep the public safe and vulnerable people deserve the very best service.
"Whilst accepting the very recent positive approach to improving the performance of the force, I am deeply concerned that GMP has consistently failed to make significant improvements in how it responds to vulnerable victims of crime.
"We told Greater Manchester Police to make these improvements in 2017 yet it has still not made sufficient progress. It has now reached the point where we are concerned about public safety in Greater Manchester.
"The people of Greater Manchester will rightly expect their local police force to do all it can to protect them from harm. We will therefore be closely monitoring the force's performance to make sure that public safety comes first."
Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke says GMP is still not responding to the needs of vulnerable people
The force has apologised for the failures. Chief Constable Stephen Watson said: "We recognise and accept HMICFRS findings about our continued weaknesses, which follows a routine inspection.
"These describe a quality of service which is not yet where we want it to be and which I know is far from what the people of Greater Manchester deserve.
GMP was effectively placed in special measures in December 2020, after a damning inspection by HMICFRS found one in five crimes were not recorded over the course of a year and that more than 80,000 had not been properly investigated.
The force's previous Chief Constable, Ian Hopkins, stepped down after the December 2020 report. Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham later confirmed he had ordered Mr Hopkins to quit.