Fight against crime results in significant drop in incidents and increase in arrests
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) reports an 8% reduction in crime over the past year, with 28,269 fewer incidents and 67,084 arrests, a 5.6% increase from 2023. Notable reductions include theft from the person (28.2%), vehicle offences (18.5%), and residential burglary (11.3%). The force attributes these improvements to targeted operations like Operation AVRO, community engagement, and partnerships with local authorities. GMP also highlights faster emergency response times, with 999 calls answered in 4 seconds on average.
Greater Manchester Police recorded 28,269 fewer crimes in the year to December 2024, an 8% drop that leaves the force area with its lowest annual total since comprehensive records began.
The reduction, equivalent to almost 30,000 fewer victims, was accompanied by a 5.6% rise in arrests - officers detained 67,084 people, 3,545 more than in 2023 - and a 12.6% jump in the proportion of crimes solved.
Neighbourhood offences showed the sharpest falls: theft from the person plunged 28.2%, vehicle crime dropped 18.5% and residential burglary fell 11.3%. Overall, 325,164 offences were logged, down from 353,433 the previous year.
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle, GMP lead for Local Policing, said the figures vindicated Chief Constable Stephen Watson’s 2021 pledge to put more officers back on the beat. “These statistics are evidence of GMP’s commitment to neighbourhood policing and are a credit to the work of our neighbourhood policing teams in identifying and solving problems,” he said. “None of this can be achieved alone. We work closely with our partners including local authorities, the CPS, the voluntary sector, and the Probation Service.”
Operation AVRO, a rotating surge that floods a different district each month with extra officers, knife arches and hotspot patrols, typified the approach. November’s deployment in one district yielded 52 arrests, 100 vehicle stops, seven executed warrants and 120 high-visibility engagements. Emergency response times have also improved: 999 calls are now answered in four seconds on average, while Grade 1 incidents are reached in 8 minutes 34 seconds, almost 90 seconds faster than the previous year.
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