Key Points
- Greater Manchester Police recorded 30,652 neighbourhood offences in the last 12 months included in the dataset.
- This is a reduction of 4,086 offences compared to last year, a decrease of 11.8%.
- GMP said the decline was statistically significant.
- Offences of theft from the person fell 21.2%, from 4,377 to 3,447 offences.
- Personal robbery reduced 16.9%, from 3,671 to 3,051 offences.
- Vehicle offences decreased 8.1%, from 17,228 to 15,841 offences.
- Resolved neighbourhood-crime outcomes increased from 2,401 to 2,600, a rise of 199.
- The proportion of neighbourhood crimes resolved increased from 6.8% to 8.5%.
- Even with the decline in thefts from the person, resolved outcomes of that offence category decreased from 123 to 67.
- Personal robbery resolved outcomes fell from 439 to 397, although the resolve rate increased from 11.6% to 13.2%.
- Vehicle-crime resolved outcomes increased from 893 to 991, with the resolve rate increasing from 5.1% to 6.2%.
- Jamie Hewitt, neighbourhood officer, attributed the increase in resolve rate to information provided by the community that helped the police issue warrants and go after the offenders.
- During the Bolton South PACT meeting in Farnworth, officers cited burglary, robbery, vehicle offences, theft from the person, antisocial behaviour, speeding and driving offences, and drug dealing as priorities.
Manchester Crime (Manchester Mirror) November 13, 2026 — Thousands fewer neighbourhood crimes were recorded across Greater Manchester in the latest 12-month period covered by police figures, with reductions in theft from the person, personal robbery and vehicle crime.
As reported by The Bolton News, figures presented by officers at a Bolton South Police and Community Together (PACT) meeting in Farnworth showed that Greater Manchester Police recorded 30,652 neighbourhood crimes during the latest 12-month period.
That total was 4,086 offences fewer than in the previous 12 months, representing an 11.8 per cent fall. Greater Manchester Police described the reduction as statistically significant.
The figures were presented as part of a wider neighbourhood-policing presentation at the Bolton South PACT meeting. They covered neighbourhood crime, which includes offences such as theft from the person, personal robbery and vehicle crime.
How much did neighbourhood crime fall?
The overall fall of 4,086 offences means that recorded neighbourhood crime in Greater Manchester decreased by 11.8 per cent year on year.
According to the figures reported by The Bolton News, the previous 12-month total was 34,738 offences. The latest figure of 30,652 represents a reduction of more than one in every ten recorded neighbourhood crimes.
GMP described the decline as statistically significant. The force did not provide a detailed explanation in the reported presentation for the causes of the reduction, although officers encouraged residents to continue passing information to police.
The figures also showed an increase in the number of neighbourhood crimes recorded as having a solved outcome. There were 2,600 solved outcomes in the latest 12 months, 199 more than the previous year.
The proportion of neighbourhood-crime outcomes recorded as solved increased from 6.8 per cent to 8.5 per cent.
Which crime types fell the most?
Theft from the person recorded the largest percentage reduction among the categories presented at the meeting.
Police recorded 3,447 thefts from the person during the latest 12 months. This was 930 fewer offences than the previous year, a fall of 21.2 per cent.
Despite that substantial reduction in recorded offences, the number of solved outcomes for theft from the person fell. There were 67 solved outcomes in the latest period, 56 fewer than the previous year.
That meant 2 per cent of theft-from-the-person outcomes were recorded as solved, compared with 2.8 per cent in the previous year.
Personal robbery also fell substantially. GMP recorded 3,051 personal robberies, which was 620 fewer than the previous year and represented a reduction of 16.9 per cent.
There were 397 solved outcomes for personal robbery, 42 fewer than the previous year. However, because the overall number of robberies had fallen more sharply, the proportion of outcomes recorded as solved increased from 11.6 per cent to 13.2 per cent.
Did vehicle crime also reduce?
Vehicle crime fell during the period, although by a smaller proportion than theft from the person or personal robbery.
Police recorded 15,841 vehicle crimes, down 1,387 offences, or 8.1 per cent, compared with the previous year.
There were 991 solved outcomes for vehicle crime, an increase of 98 on the previous year. The proportion recorded as solved consequently increased from 5.1 per cent to 6.2 per cent.
The figures indicate that, while vehicle crime remained the largest category among the three offence types presented, it also recorded a meaningful year-on-year reduction.
What did police say about community intelligence?
Speaking at the meeting, neighbourhood police officer Jamie Hewitt stressed the importance of information from residents in helping police target offenders.
As reported by The Bolton News, he said: “We always look to do warrants. I’ve signed at least 10 to 15 off in the last few months, so we’re doing quite a lot.
“We had a big recovery of nitrous oxide canisters at a storage depot and shut down a couple of shops selling that.
“The more intelligence that comes through, the more we can do.”
Officers also encouraged communities to continue providing intelligence about crime in their neighbourhoods. They told those at the meeting that information supplied by the public could help police build cases and obtain warrants.
What policing priorities were outlined?
The figures were shown as part of a wider neighbourhood-policing presentation at the Bolton South PACT meeting.
Police outlined priorities including burglary, robbery, vehicle crime, theft from the person, antisocial behaviour, speeding and driving offences, and drug dealing.
The presentation did not, according to The Bolton News, provide a borough-by-borough breakdown of the latest neighbourhood-crime figures. The reported data instead presented the Greater Manchester-wide total and the performance of individual crime categories.
The meeting formed part of GMP’s wider engagement with communities through PACT meetings, which bring police and local residents together to discuss local concerns and policing priorities.
Background of the development
Neighbourhood crime is a category used in policing performance reporting and includes offences such as personal robbery, theft from the person and vehicle crime. Greater Manchester Police publishes crime and performance data through its official statistics and data pages.
The latest figures were disclosed at a local community meeting rather than through a standalone force-wide press release. The Bolton News reported the data on November 13, 2026, attributing the figures to the presentation given by officers at the Bolton South PACT meeting in Farnworth.
The reported reduction follows earlier GMP reporting on neighbourhood crime. In January 2025, GMP said recorded crime across Greater Manchester had fallen by 8 per cent in the 12 months to December 2024, with almost 30,000 fewer incidents across the force area; it also reported reductions in theft from the person, vehicle offences and residential burglary.
In April 2025, GMP separately reported that crime was down and solve rates were up across Greater Manchester as part of its neighbourhood-policing commitment.
Prediction: how could this affect Greater Manchester residents?
For residents across Greater Manchester, a continued fall in neighbourhood crime could mean fewer incidents involving personal robbery, theft from the person and vehicle crime in their local areas.
If the downward trend continues, residents may see greater police attention on the offence types that remain prominent, particularly vehicle crime, which accounted for 15,841 of the 30,652 neighbourhood crimes recorded in the latest period.
The rise in the overall solved-outcome rate from 6.8 per cent to 8.5 per cent could also affect public confidence in neighbourhood policing, although the mixed picture across individual offence types remains important. Theft from the person recorded a lower solved-outcome rate despite the sharp fall in offences, while personal robbery and vehicle crime recorded higher solve rates.
For communities in Bolton and elsewhere in Greater Manchester, the figures may reinforce the importance of reporting information to police. Officer Jamie Hewitt said that more intelligence from the public enabled police to do more, including pursuing warrants and acting on information about local criminal activity.
The development could also shape future local policing priorities. The priorities outlined at the Bolton South PACT meeting—burglary, robbery, vehicle crime, theft from the person, antisocial behaviour, speeding and driving offences, and drug dealing—suggest that neighbourhood teams will continue to focus on both volume crime and issues raised directly by local communities.
