Greater Manchester Mayor extends Chief Constable’s contract to finish the job of transforming GMP

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has extended Chief Constable Stephen Watson's contract, so he can finish the job of transforming Greater Manchester Police.

Stephen Watson's current contract runs until May 2026, but the Mayor has now extended this to May 2028.

Since his appointment in 2021 the Chief Constable has brought GMP out of ‘special measures' in under two years – turning it into the most improved force in the country by 2023, based on the findings of a report by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

With the strong support of his Deputy, Terry Woods, and the hard work and dedication of officers and staff throughout the force, the Chief Constable has led a programme of change that has seen GMP:

• Strengthen neighbourhood policing – with a named local officer in every ward, and the Bee In The Loop information service.
• Crack down on neighbourhood crime – with residential burglaries down from 15,519 to 10,632 in four years, and vehicle crime down from 23,500 to 17,499 over the same period.
• Increase arrests – from 33,555 in 2021 to 67,306, including an increase in arrests for domestic abuse.
• Solve more crimes – with a massive increase in shoplifting incidents solved, up from 993 to 5,510 during his tenure.
• Drive out organised crime – launching Operation Vulcan to tackle counterfeit shops in Cheetham Hill and Strangeways, seizing almost 1050 tonnes of items, shutting down 216 shops, and making 238 arrests – resulting in a 62 per cent drop in violent crime, and an international policing award.
• Deliver faster response times – getting to emergency incidents in an average of seven minutes and 48 seconds, three minutes faster than in 2021, and with 999 calls now being answered in 2 seconds, down from 47 seconds, and 101 calls answered in 33 seconds, down from two minutes.
• Work to make public transport safer – making the Bee Network Greater Manchester's ‘11^th district' through the TravelSafe Partnership, to help more people feel safe on trams and bus routes.  

The force has also focused on bringing to justice the perpetrators of non-recent child sexual exploitation in Greater Manchester.

Operation Lytton, centred on non-recent CSE in Rochdale, has resulted in 94 arrests to date, and five convictions that saw defendants sentenced to a combined 71 years in prison. Another trial remains ongoing, and others are set to follow this year and next. 

This month Operation Sherwood, a multi-agency effort launched in 2022, also made its second arrest in connection with non-recent CSE in Oldham.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: 

“Greater Manchester Police has been transformed under Stephen Watson's leadership.

“When we appointed him to the role in 2021, we were confident that he was the person to turn the force around and lead it into a new era – and that is what he has done.

“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.”

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said: 

“Thanks to the immense efforts of our officers and staff, people in Greater Manchester are now measurably safer than they were in 2021.

“I was very clear from the outset that there was within GMP a palpable energy, determination and commitment to public service. All that was required was to bind the latent potential of the force to a solid plan and to ensure that all were pulling strongly in the same direction.

“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.

“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 Chief Constable's achievements are part of an ongoing drive to transform GMP into a force that Greater Manchester's communities can be proud of.

He has taken a resolute stance against GMP personnel who fail to meet the standards required by the force, dismissing three times as many officers in 2024 than in 2022, and improving behavioural standards in the force.

Last year GMP and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority committed to implementing the recommendations of the Baird Inquiry, which looked at the experiences of women and girls taken into police custody in Greater Manchester.

Since then, the force has ended the use of police strip searches for ‘welfare' purposes, delivering on the commitment two months early, and has completed work to fulfil all the recommendations directed at GMP in Dame Vera Baird's report.

This announcement follows the news last week that 176 new frontline police officers would be funded by the Home Office, in addition to the 670 neighbourhood officers currently serving in local teams across Greater Manchester.

Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities Kate Green said: 

“Since joining Greater Manchester Police, Stephen Watson has risen to the challenge of improving a force that, sadly, had fallen short of the standards that people rightly expect.

“With his leadership team he has turned GMP into a force recognised by national inspectors as the most improved in the country, placing a relentless focus on neighbourhood policing and tackling the issues that matter most to communities.

“The challenges facing the force are now being confronted head-on. Culture change does not happen overnight, but the Chief Constable has taken the right steps to bring about improvements – and we will work with him to ensure that change is delivered in full.”