THE Chief Constable who led Greater Manchester Police out of special measures has had his contract extended by two years.
Stephen Watson has led the police force – which is the third largest in the UK – since May 2021.
He succeeded Ian Hopkins on a five-year contract on a £204,372 salary to oversee the force which covers Greater Manchester’s 10 boroughs – including Tameside and Oldham.
As part of his role, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has responsibilities around the governance and budgets relating to GMP, supported by Kate Green, the deputy mayor for policing and crime.
Mr Burnham asked Mr Watson to stay on, after leading what inspectors described in 2023 as England’s most improved force out of special measures.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services had placed the force in special measures in 2020 after it failed to record more than 80,000 crimes.
“Greater Manchester Police has been transformed under Stephen Watson’s leadership,” said the mayor.
“Because of his proactive, back-to-basics approach, and his strong commitment to neighbourhood policing, crime is down across the board and more criminals are being brought to justice.
“While GMP has made significant strides, Stephen and I recognise that there is still more to do. That is precisely why today we are backing him to finish the job and deliver the rebuilt trust and confidence that everyone in Greater Manchester should have in their police force.”
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority said that, under Mr Watson’s leadership, neighbourhood policing has been strengthened, arrests have increased from 33,555 in 2021 to 67,306, and shoplifting incidents solved have risen from 993 to 5,510.
They added that there has also been faster response times to 999 and 101 calls, a 62 per cent drop in violent crime, a drive to make public transport safer for passengers, a crackdown on counterfeit goods shops, and reviews into historical cases of child sexual abuse.
Mr Watson says Greater Manchester residents are now “measurably safer than they were in 2021” thanks to the “immense efforts” of officers and staff.
“It has been an enormous personal privilege to lead a resurgent GMP as our excellent people, together with our partner agencies, have delivered the improvements that our communities rightly deserved,” he added.
“My Chief Officer team and I know that more remains to be done to protect, embed and further the improvements we’ve made to services, and I am delighted to be staying as Chief Constable to lead the next phase.”
The news of Mr Watson’s extension comes after the government announced plans for Greater Manchester to get an extra 176 neighbourhood police officers, as part of a UK-wide push for more patrols.
You must be logged in to post a comment.