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60% of reported crimes not fully investigated, police chief says

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the force did not have enough officers and had to prioritise crimes.

About 60% of reported crimes are “screened out” and not fully investigated, the chief constable of Greater Manchester Police has said.

In an interview with BBC Radio Manchester, Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said the force did not have enough officers and had to prioritise crimes.

He said: “If you are a victim of serious crime we are really good at dealing with that still and we are still rated as outstanding by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

“But, in the middle, if your shed’s broken into, your bike’s stolen, your vehicle’s broken into and there’s no witnesses and there’s no CCTV and there’s no opportunity for forensics we will be screening that out really quickly.”

Mr Hopkins said about 1,000 crimes were recorded a day across Greater Manchester and around 60% were screened out after very basic investigations were undertaken.

He said although there had been a rise in police funding from council tax, 80% of the force’s budget was made up of Government grants, which have been cut.

He said: “Either people have to accept that a modern police service has to really prioritise against those things that cause the most harm and threat and risk in our community, or there has to be more investment.”