Neil Wilby Media

Greater Manchester Police is highlighting the work their frontline officers do every day during a national week of action.

Described last year by its chief constable, Stephen Watson, as ‘the most improved police force in the country’ following a lengthy spell in Home Office ‘Special Measures’, GMP is playing its part in a nationwide campaign known as the National Response Policing Week.

Response officers are often the first port of call for many emergencies across Greater Manchester, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

GMP is keen to showcase what they say is the hard work, dedication, and professionalism of our response officers and those who contribute to our response service throughout the week-long campaign.

The force, the fifth largest in the UK, has more than 1,600 Response officers, each serving different districts across the force area and responding to incidents ranging from burglaries and robberies, to fights and car accidents.

They will often be the first to attend an incident to assess the immediate threat and harm, initiate an investigation and provide a reassuring visible police presence for the public.

In the past year, GMP responded to 135,726 Grade 1 incidents – calls that need an immediate response – or 370 a day across the force area.

The response to those Grade 1 incidents came in at 9 minutes 34 seconds on average, well inside the expected national average of 15 minutes.

The Force Control Room receives almost 600,000 emergency (999) calls a year – or 1,600 a day – that are answered in around four seconds on average.

Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle, head of Response Policing at GMP, said: “Response Policing is the bedrock of every police force across the country.

“Our response officers and staff play a vital role in keeping the public of Greater Manchester safe every day of the year around the clock.

“Almost every police officer starts on response – there is no doubt it’s one of the toughest but also most rewarding roles in policing.

“They will usually be the first officers on the scene of an ongoing incident and will often be the first person the public sees, so it is vital they are trained to the highest standards and have the latest kit and equipment. This will include vital life-saving training and the highest driving skills.

“We have invested £6m in new uniforms for front-line officers as well as upgrading their tasers and body-worn video cameras.

“When the public call us, often in one of the worst moments of their lives, they rightly expect us to pick up the phone, arrive quickly, act professionally and protect them.

“We have made significant improvements in doing this over the last few years, particularly in areas such as burglary, where we now attend every burglary report that comes into us, and domestic abuse, where we are arresting more people than ever.”

The week will also raise awareness of the wellbeing and resilience support services, provided throughout the year by our Occupational Health Unit, with access to a range of initiatives from the force and Oscar Kilo, the National Police Wellbeing Service.

ACC Boyle added: “This type of work can be extremely challenging, which is why there is also a focus on officers’ wellbeing this week.

“We are constantly reviewing the challenges our officers face and looking to see how we can support them further, as well as raising awareness of the support services that are available and making sure they have the latest, most up-to-date equipment and technology.”

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Page last updated: Tuesday 25th June, 2024 at 0645 hours

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