Triple Whammy for Labour Police Chief Murphy
March 26, 2010 3:28 PM
GMP has had a bad couple of weeks under labour police Chief Paul Murphy
Today's announcement that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is to have its budget capped is the third setback for police chief Cllr Paul Murphy in as many weeks. Government have stepped in to limit the Police budget increase for local taxpayers to 1.6% next year, due to "excessive Council Tax increases" from GMP.
The Minister wrote to Greater Manchester Police Authority on 9th December 2009, warning that authorities should not assume previous capping rules apply, and that she expected to see the lowest rises in 16 years. Labour's Police Authority Chairman is now under pressure to explain why he did not heed this warning.
Lib Dem Policing spokesperson Jackie Pearcey said:
"The Manchester Lib Dem view is that decisions over police and council tax funding are best made by locally accountable Councillors rather than by some out of touch Labour Minister in Whitehall. Indeed, it was those same Labour ministers that have cut GMP's grant by £82million since 2002. However, I am concerned that the minister flagged this up to Cllr Murphy in December, and he seems to have ignored that warning."
Earlier this month, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC ) reported that Greater Manchester Police "struggles in some key areas" and is "causing concern."
That report showed GMP performs poorly on local crime & policing; poorly on confidence & satisfaction; poorly on solving crimes, with declining prospects of improvement; poorly on the comparative satisfaction of the BME community; and poorly on public confidence overall.
Only Nottingham's Police performed worse.
Last Month, the Audit Commission reported that the Greater Manchester Police Authority has failed to scrutinise properly the performance of Greater Manchester Police. When asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the Police Authority in scrutinising and ensuring the force delivers the priority services that matter to local people, the Audit Commission awarded a rating of "1" ("not meeting minimum requirements / performing poorly").
Cllr Pearcey added:
"Cllr Murphy is turning into a Velcro politician. Bad news seems to stick to him!"
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats