GMP finally discloses Oldham crime data in 'U-turn'

The force initially refused to publish the information even though it said it would ‘promote the accountability and aid transparency of GMP’.

Despite saying it would not be publishing the information following a Freedom of Information request, GMP provided the data at the eleventh hour after months of back-and-forth.

Oldham’s MP Debbie Abrahams, commenting just hours before the data was published, said the ongoing lack of transparency for residents was 'very disappointing' and both she and MP Jim McMahon said they would raise the issue with GMP.

Unlike most police forces, Greater Manchester Police has not regularly published its crime data in more than three years.

When The Oldham Times reported on the transparency concerns last month, a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: “We are keen to ensure that communities in Oldham and across Greater Manchester can access these important statistics, and we are open to Freedom of Information requests for crime and incident data to be shared with the public by their local district.”

Apparent U-turn

However, in response to a Freedom of Information request from the paper, Greater Manchester Police said it would not be providing the information after all.

In a letter sent on October 21, an information officer at the force said it would not be publishing the data as it was ‘intended for future publication’ – though gave no indication of when it would be published.

In making its decision, the force carried out a ‘public interest test’, where they said publishing the data would "enhance public knowledge of the subject and would promote the accountability and aid transparency of GMP".

The force rejected a request in an apparent U-turn (Image: FOI)

However, the force said publishing the data would be a ‘duplication of work’ and "would not be an economical use of public funds" since the force plans to release the data in the future.

The force did not give a date for publishing the data, which has remained unpublished regularly for more than three years.

GMP had not responded to an official appeal request against its decision after more than a month, despite guidance saying appeals should be responded to within 20 working days.

However, the force finally provided the crime data for the month of July 2022 in the afternoon of November 29, in response to a request for comment on this story.

MPs respond

Oldham’s MPs gave their views in the hours leading up to the eventual publication.

Oldham West and Royton MP Jim McMahon said: “I will raise this issue with GMP.

“Communities in Oldham have a right to be able to access crime and incident data from their local area just like the rest of the country.”

Debbie Abrahams and Jim McMahon said they would raise the issue with GMP (Image: Canva)

Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth, said: “It’s very disappointing that this issue is ongoing and that the public still has no access to fully transparent and accurate crime data, and I will be raising this with Greater Manchester Police at the highest level.”

Oldhamers potentially left ‘in the dark’

Award-winning data journalist and Freedom of Information expert Claire Miller said: “People in Oldham may be rightly concerned that they aren’t getting access to the same information those in other parts of the country can take for granted.

“GMP saying it’s open to FOI requests suggests a keenness to make crime data available to the public quickly.

“But that doesn’t seem to be the reality.

“Turning down an FOI request because there’s an intention to publish it in the future can be reasonable grounds for refusal.

“But there needs to be a plan for releasing the requested information – a publication date, a timeframe, a system in place.

“The worrying thing is this doesn’t seem to be the case here, potentially leaving Oldham residents in the dark with no end in sight.”

Police data

Neighbouring police forces make data available publicly on the Police.UK database – meaning people can check and compare crime, stop and search, and outcome statistics in their area.

However, Oldhamers, and Greater Mancunians, have been unable to do so for some time.

For example, The Oldham Times was unable to produce an article similar to this one in the Brighton Argus, which shows where crime is happening and reveals the changing trends.

A message on the Police.UK website reads: “Due to a change in IT systems no crime, outcome or stop and search data is available from July 2019 onwards.

“The force are working to rectify this issue and provide the missing data over the coming months.”

A story on July’s crime data will be forthcoming.