Police chief faces first grilling

4:00pm Saturday 6th September 2008

THE new Chief Constable of Greater Manchester has faced his first grilling by police watchdogs.

Peter Fahy, who took over the role of Chief Constable on Monday, was charged with improving police performance when he appeared before the Greater Manchester Police Authority for the first time yesterday.

He said the force was doing very well in terms of serious and violent offences, but that the rise in burglary was a serious issue and a major priority.

Mr Fahy also pledged to cut bureaucracy and get more police officers on to frontline duties.

The force’s top brass came under fire from the authority earlier this month following disappointing figures for the first quarter of the year.

The authority demanded an action plan which would set targets for the rest of the year.

Authority chairman Cllr Paul Murphy said: “We are looking for a promise as to when we are actually going to get back on track.”

He said if the force was a business, that is exactly what would be expected of it.

Referring to the spike in burglary, Mr Fahy said: “In terms of running a business, there are sometimes changes in the market.

“We need to see what those changes are and see what we can do to overcome them.”