Fewer criminals caught and jailed

Date published: 26/06/2008

More violent criminals are escaping justice in Greater Manchester — despite a record number of police officers, the Tories have warned.

The force solved just 55 per cent of violent offences last year, compared with a 71 per cent detection rate at the start of the century, according to Home Office figures dug out by the Conservatives.

The Tories criticised fewer violent criminals being brought to justice despite the increase in police numbers. There are 1,000 more officers in Greater Manchester than there were in 2001.

Dominic Grieve, the new Shadow Home Secretary, said: “Violent crime has doubled under Labour, yet these new figures show that more people are getting away with it.

“Conservatives would secure our borders to stop weapons and drugs flowing into the country and slash police red tape so that officers can be deployed onto the streets to catch and deter violent offenders.”

The Home Office did not deny that fewer violent criminals were being convicted, but insisted that was not the picture for most offences.

And it pointed to its recent Tackling Violence Action Plan — introducing neighbourhood police teams to every community — as proof that ministers were “determined to drive crime down further”.

The Conservatives have pledged to scrap the controversial “stop and account” form, which takes 25 minutes to complete.

It would be replaced by a simpler form that would save 1.3m police hours a year, Mr Grieve said.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has pledged similar changes to stop and search rules, following a study into cutting police red tape, but is open to criticism that the shake-up is long overdue.