Greater Manchester Police must remain vigilant despite a recent report showing a reduction in criminal activity within the area, claims the region’s Police and Crime Commissioner.
Statistics from the Crime Survey of England and Wales revealed the total number of recorded crimes in the area had dropped by 13% from December 2011 to December 2012.
Yet despite Manchester seeing the largest percentage decrease within the North West, PCC Tony Lloyd believes more work can be done to make the city safer.
“It’s good news that crime continues to fall in Greater Manchester and follows a trend over recent years,” he said.
“Statistics can never be a comfort to the young family that have just been burgled, or the disabled lady who’s a repeat victim of hate crime.
“They have to deal with the very real consequences of crime and this is why victims are central to the police and crime plan – making sure we get it right first time so victims can have confidence in the police and criminal justice process.
“It is so important that our police officers, PCSOs and staff remain committed to making our streets safer and we continue to build on the relationship between the police and the community.”
The figures show that the total number of crimes against adults recorded within Greater Manchester dropped to 186,986 last year compared to 214,500 in 2011.
Crimes involving violence against a person as well as robbery and burglary were all down by nearly 10% and sat in line with the national average.
Violence against a person resulting in injury showed an 11% drop, the largest decrease of main category crimes, with 15,508 incidents recorded in 2012 compared to 17,511 the previous year.
Sexual offences, however, showed the smallest reduction, with a total of 2,712 crimes reported in 2012 compared to 2,785 in 2011 – a 3% decrease.
Representative for crime reduction charity NARCO, Sally Benton, agreed the statistics were a positive step forward, however more interaction with potential criminals could make a larger difference.
“It’s good to see that crime is falling in Manchester, but there is a lot more that can be done to reduce crime across the city,” she said.
“We need to work directly with people who are committing crimes. We need to challenge their behaviour, help them get jobs, and tackle issues like drug abuse or family breakdown.
“If we can deal with these root causes of offending then we will make a real difference in communities across Manchester.”
Nationwide the survey highlighted an 8% drop in crime, with police recording 3.7million offences in 2012 compared to just over 4million in 2011.
Recorded crime is now at its lowest since the mid 1980’s and Crime Prevention Minister Jeremy Browne said police should be congratulated on their work, in spite of recent budget cuts.
“It is particularly encouraging that this downward trend is replicated across every police force in England and Wales,” he explained.
“We have swept away central targets, reduced bureaucracy and the police should be congratulated for rising to the challenge of doing more with less.
“England and Wales are safer than they have been for decades. We will continue to work hard to tackle crime and its underlying causes.”
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