Greater Manchester Police’s (GMP) response times are among the “fastest” in the country, it has been revealed.
Response officers are form a crucial part of the region’s police service, with more 1,600 of them currently working hard, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to serve different areas across Greater Manchester.
These officers respond to everything from burglaries and robberies, to fights, road traffic collisions, and more throughout the region.
They will often be the first to attend any form of incident, and once arriving on these scene, will be quick to assess the immediate threat and harm, initiate an investigation, and provide a reassuring visible police presence for the public.
GMP’s response times have been revealed as among the ‘fastest’ in the country / Credit: GMP
GMP‘s ‘Force Control Room’ receives almost 600,000 999 calls a year, which is around 1,600 a day.
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And now, it has been revealed this week that the force’s response times to those 999 calls, as well as officers’ arrival on the scenes, are among the fastest of any police service in the whole country.
Within the past year alone, GMP was found to have responded to 135,726 Grade 1 incidents – which are calls that need an immediate response – or 370 a day, across the borough, in around 9 minutes 34 seconds on average, which is well inside the expected national average of 15 minutes.
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Those almost 600,000 emergency calls were also found to have been answered, on average, in around four seconds.
#ResponsePolicingWeek | 🚔 Our response officers are the first on the scene and need to be ready for anything.
Today, we would like to shine a light on how their quick actions help save lives.
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 25, 2024
GMP’s Assistant Chief Constable, Matt Boyle, called Response Policing the “bedrock” of every police force across the country.
Speaking on GMP’s recent achievements in response times, and praising officers for all their hard work and dedication, ACC Boyle said: “Our response officers and staff play a vital role in keeping the public of Greater Manchester safe every day of the year around the clock.
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“Almost every police officer starts on response, and there is no doubt it’s one of the toughest but also most rewarding roles in policing.
The region’s police service receives almost 600,000 emergency 999 calls a year / Credit: GMP
“When the public call us, often in one of the worst moments of their lives, they rightly expect us to pick up the phone, arrive quickly, act professionally and protect them, and we have made significant improvements in doing this over the last few years, particularly in areas such as burglary, where we now attend every burglary report that comes into us, and domestic abuse, where we are arresting more people than ever.”
ACC Boyle also assured the public that GMP is investing time, money, and recourses into making sure Response Officers receive the most up-to-date training.
“They will usually be the first officers on the scene of an ongoing incident and will often be the first person the public sees, ACC Boyle continued, “So it’s vital they are trained to the highest standards and have the latest kit and equipment.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Family festival Geronimo cancelled for good as parents slam ‘absolute farce’
Daisy Jackson
Geronimo Children’s Festival, a popular family event that was meant to take place in Cheshire this summer, is ‘no more’.
The festival, sometimes dubbed ‘Glastonbury for kids’ has announced that it’s cancelling its summer weekender for the second year running.
In a statement, organisers blamed poor ticket sales due to ‘the great British weather’ and said that all ticket-holders will be refunded.
Its 2023 festival was also cancelled.
Geronimo was set to take place this year at Arley Hall between 23 and 26 August, featuring children’s entertainment, interactive musical experiences, food and more.
Parents who were looking forward to taking their little ones to the event have now slammed the cancellation as an ‘absolute farce’.
One wrote: “Aww so sorry to hear this we had an amazing time there 2 years ago and we’re so looking forward to going again.”
Another said: “Sad to see something so amazing 6 years ago has now gone to this.”
In its statement, Geronimo said: “With a heavy heart, we announce that Geronimo Children’s Festival is no more and our scheduled event on 23rd-26th August 2024 has been cancelled. We thank all those involved in it, the directors, staff and artists who all put their hearts and soul into the event.
“The great British weather is not always kind and with a huge percentage of festival-goers holding off booking until the last week, the event has become an unsustainable financial risk.
“Ticketline will arrange the face value refund of all valid tickets (including those rolled over from previous years) Please note we have no access to ticketholder details and are unable to assist with refunds directly. All ticket enquiries should be addressed to [email protected] or call 0161 813 2222.
“Thank you to all the families, performers and suppliers who made Geronimo Festival a magical experience for so many children over the last decade. We hope you will cherish the memories of your time in our festival fields and wish everyone a wonderful summer.”
Parents of Dillon Duffy issue urgent appeal to help find missing Oldham teen last seen in London
Danny Jones
The parents of missing Oldham teenager Dillon Duffy have issued an urgent appeal to help find their son who disappeared last week.
Dillon Duffy, 18 from Chadderton, was reported missing on Tuesday, 18 June last week after he was thought to be on the way to work.
He was dropped off by his mother outside the local Asda supermarket on Milne Street, saying that he wanted to grab a bottle of water before his shift, but the teen decided instead to jump on a train to Stoke at around 3.35pm from Manchester Piccadilly before boarding another to London.
CCTV footage confirmed the last-known sighting of the youngster arriving at Euston station and the Metropolitan Police‘s missing person unit is now said to have taken charge.
Dillon, 18, is missing from Greater #Manchester. Dillon got a train to #Euston on the evening of 18 June.
He was wearing a black hooded jacket, grey cap, black tracksuit bottoms and black and grey trainers.
Dillon was last seen wearing the black North Face jacket pictured, as well as black and grey Nike trainers with white soles. Although his head is recently shaved, he is described as having ‘dirty blonde’ hair. It is also thought he could be carrying a large blue Simpsons blanket that is missing from his room.
Speaking to the Oldham Times, mum Donna Duffy said: “It’s obviously a big police area and they’re inundated with missing persons cases, so we’re not really getting anywhere with that at the moment in terms of footage.
“It’s vital that we get some CCTV footage of where he went after Euston station, my sister managed to get some footage for the police but that trail isn’t being chased.
Even more concerningly, Ms Duffy went on to detail that Dillon left a note for his family telling them he was feeling low and that they found internet searches relating to depression.
“We don’t know what frame of mind he’s in”, said Donna, “[but from his Google history it shows he was feeling really low and I’m feeling really sorry for him because I didn’t know he was feeling that way. I just want him to reach out so we can help and support him.”
She also told the MEN that the young man had been deemed “low risk” by police because he is 18 but they are unsure whether he even has money and are worried as there has been no social media activity.
Dillon Jamie Duffy went missing 7 days ago and his family need all the help they can get raising awareness, they are worried sick about him. His last sighting was at Euston station 18/6 17.48 #finddillonduffypic.twitter.com/cOvBRkfdQJ
With Dillon’s father having driven the 200 miles to London immediately and spent six days searching for his son non-stop along with some other friends and family, she admitted the search thus far has taken its toll, with the distressed dad having to come back home “due to his own health.”
He even drove up to Bridlington in Yorkshire due to a hunch based on Dillon’s search history but the pair have now come “come to a standstill”, with Donna adding in a post online that she had been “stood aimlessly in Manchester Picadilly train station” in hopes he might return from the capital.
Numerous accounts across various social media platforms are now trying to spread the word in an effort to locate him. More than 26,000 people have also joined the ‘Help Find Dillon Duffy’ Facebook group and police are urging anyone with information to come forward.
You can also call or text the UK’s official missing persons hotline on 116000 and cite the reference number: 24-096945.
The search for fellow missing teen Jay Slater also continues as efforts to find the 19-year-old from Lancashire have now been stepped up.
Emily Sergeant -
26th June 2024 
