It’s a big job but satisfying, and it offers a variety of equally satisfying, and exciting career opportunities.

These opportunities cross a range of roles, from police officers through to non-uniformed support staff and volunteers. Each role is essential to helping us serve our diverse communities. Each provides an opportunity for a real career, providing real policing – by people like you.

Our Target Operating Model
There are five parts to the future plan for policing in Greater Manchester. Each of the parts have a significant amount of work taking place that will come together to ensure the best possible service. 

The five elements are:
1. Place based – police officers and staff working alongside other agencies in localities.
2. Threat, harm and risk – providing priority support to those most at risk of harm.
3. Citizens’ contract – encouraging people to work with us as part of a contract to improve communities.
4. Workforce – supporting our workforce to change how we work.
5. Information and technology – making best use of both information and new technology.

Place-based working
We are committed to developing place-based working. This means having police officers and staff working alongside other agencies like social services, health workers and crime reduction partners in localities across Greater Manchester. They will share information and resources to tackle the issues that matter to the local area.

It will mean we can work together to identify the root causes of problems in communities and find solutions.

We have already started doing this in Platt Bridge, Wigan, with positive results. Teams have come together to help those in need.

This work has also changed the way we deliver neighbourhood policing which has increased the dedicated people working for you where you live. It includes ensuring there will be one officer who deals with each case, making it easier for people to get updates on progress.

Threat, harm and risk
With limited resources it is important for us to ensure that we are focusing on helping the most vulnerable in our communities. This means ensuring we have the best information to identify those most at risk of harm.

Project Challenger, our initiative to tackle serious and organised crime, has already shown the benefits of working alongside other agencies. It has brought a range of officers and partner agency staff together to tackle the most serious offenders.

GMP’s work to tackle serious and organised crime and the focus on modern slavery has also drawn praise nationally. The force has successfully rescued victims and prosecuted offenders.

Working together to create a safer future – GMP’s citizens’ contract
Greater Manchester Police is calling on communities to work together to create a safer Greater Manchester with the new Citizens’ Contract.

We spent 18 months listening to people across the city region as part of work to better understand and manage people’s expectations of policing.

We worked with people from across Greater Manchester, officers and staff to find out what really matters, what they can do better and what the public can do to help them, holding more than 40 events and getting 2,500+ responses to an online survey.

All of this helped us create the Citizens’ Contract.

The seven points detail how we will continue to be upfront and honest about our priorities and demands (and when we can and can’t go out to something) and how we will help to build strong communities and help people to keep themselves safe.

It also asks the public to contact police in the right way, share information and intelligence with them and work together with their neighbours to create places to live that everyone can be proud of.

1. We will provide easy access to services in the most appropriate way. And we need you make the right contact to the right agency at the right time.

2. We will share information with our partners to achieve better outcomes. And we need you to provide information to help tackle crime and make communities safer.

3. We will use the resources we have responsibly. And we need you to understand and trust police decision making on use of resources.

4. We will listen and help to build strong communities. And we need you to come together to actively keep communities safe.

5. We will make crime prevention advice available for all. And we need you to protect yourself, your property, your family and communities.

6. We will keep you informed and updated about policing. And we need you to give the police your views and have your say on community safety.

7. We will provide opportunities to be part of policing to keep communities safe. And we need you to be part of your community and consider being a part of policing

Together, we can create a safer Greater Manchester.

Workforce
We are investing in opportunities for officers and staff to learn, develop and improve. If we can do this, we can build a workforce that is able to meet the challenges of the changes to policing. Officers are working in different ways under the development of place-based neighbourhood teams and they need to develop the skills to make this happen.

Our police officers and staff face some difficult situations and their resilience of often tested which is why the work is developing the support that is available. With this work it can mean officers and staff are in the best shape to provide people with the service they need.

Information technology
We are prioritising the introduction of new technology so that we can make the best use of the information that is available. Data and information is important to make the right decisions and to improve the service. We are all used to doing business and shopping online and policing needs to mirror these developments and opportunities.

Frontline officers and staff are now using smartphones and tablets across Greater Manchester. Thousands of transactions are now being done on the new technology away from police stations. It means officers can stay out in communities and still get the paperwork done. Body worn video has also been introduced across Greater Manchester and this means we have better evidence available to help when dealing with incidents, arrests and prosecutions and further work continues to ensure frontline officers have the technology to fulfil significant parts of their work whilst working out in communities.

Future of policing
Greater Manchester is an amazing place and I am proud to be the Chief Constable of GMP.

We are facing some challenging times and we have a huge amount of change taking place so that we can provide the best possible service to the public.

We call the changes our Target Operating Model and it is transforming policing in Greater Manchester. At the heart of it is our focus on strong neighbourhood policing and closer working with local agencies such as local councils and health services.

This work is well underway and will continue into 2022. I need your help to keep the communities in Greater Manchester safe and protect vulnerable people.

Ian Hopkins
Chief Constable