Stephen Watson, Greater Manchester’s chief constable, ordered the smart dress code after finding officers’ “cheap” kit made them look sloppy and unprofessional as he tried to overhaul the “failing” force when he took over last summer. The upheaval, which brought more bamboozles on the beat, and a drive to chase every crime lead, led to such a rise in criminal arrests that the force was forced to open more custody suites and deploy more officers to handle them. In an interview with The Telegraph to mark its first anniversary, Mr Watson said his strategy of “getting back to the basics of effective policing” meant Greater Manchester was now emerging as the “most improved” force in the country. Since he took over last June, 999 call handling response times have been halved from one minute six seconds to 29 seconds, arrests have increased by 61 per cent to 4,527 and the number of crimes solved has increased by 21 per cent. This means an additional 29,000 suspects will be arrested this year.
The dress code restores public respect
Mr Watson replaced Ian Hopkins, who resigned as chief constable after the force became one of six placed in “special measures” over its failure to record and investigate thousands of crimes. He said the dress code helped restore public and professional respect for the police, with the “old-fashioned” adage that “if you look after the little things, the big things tend to take care of themselves”. It was not the fault of the officers who were given “cheap” kit “not fit for purpose” and, in a bid to save money, had their force insignia removed, he said. “It looks sloppy and they look sloppy as a result,” he said. Alongside the new kit, officers also have to follow a new dress code. “If you come to work, if you’re a female officer, you tie your hair, if you’re a male, you shave, you press your clothes, if you know how, you shine your boots, you look smart and you look professional. We are very uncompromising on that,” Mr Watson said. “When you see the Grenadier Guards outside Buckingham Palace, there is never a problem with intelligence or uniform standards. Our people don’t need to be guardians, but I think we can take a leaf out of that book.”
