Police Authority Boss Should Resign (Cllr Marc Ramsbottom)

Cllr Marc Ramsbottom <info@marcramsbottom.org.uk>

Police Authority Boss Should Resign

December 28, 2009 11:31 AM

Crime in the city centre and north Manchester is worst in Greater Manchester

The Liberal Democrat Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Manchester Central has called on the boss of the Greater Manchester Police Authority to resign after recent official figures showed that the north Manchester police division had the worst crime rates in Greater Manchester.

A series of crime and detection league tables recently published showed Greater Manchester Police were either bottom or next to bottom in four national tables produced from the results of the British Crime Survey. The tables showed that the area suffered from a higher rate of robbery, burglary and car crime - than the five other English forces judged to be most similar. It also came bottom in the proportion of these crimes which are detected.

It came next to bottom in a table of 'most serious' violent crime and also in the detection rate for these crimes.

The tables, which compare GMP to forces in Merseyside, Northumbria, South Yorkshire, West Midlands and West Yorkshire, were presented to members of Greater Manchester Police Authority.

The four tables also showed that the 'North Manchester' police division, which covers the city centre and the north of the city represented by the Chair of the Police Authority, fared worst in a group of the 15 most challenging police divisions across the country in the same 'acquisitive' crime and violent crime categories.

Cllr Marc Ramsbottom said, "These figures shameful, and the Chairman of the Police Authority should resign. He has failed to stem the rising tide of crime in our area and many resident have no confidence that things will get better. The loss of police officers due to budget cuts next year will only make matters worse. People want to see more police on the street - not less."