Tens of thousands of crimes were reported in Bolton over the last year, giving the borough a far higher crime rate than the national average.

Ranging from assaults, drug offences, public order and weapons charges, Bolton recorded a total of 36,2451 offences in the 12 months to March 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), coming to more than 120 crimes for every 1,000 people.

What seems to be a soaring crime rate has sparked searching questions about how this has been allowed to happen, with the government’s critics quick to point to falling police numbers and the immense challenge faced by the criminal courts.

Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi said: “The latest figures from the ONS on crimes reported in Bolton speaks to a wider issue of managed decline in Britain and Bolton under the Conservatives.

“Ten thousand police officers cut, the courts backlog spiralling and over a decade of austerity which has decimated public services has all created a perfect storm for criminals to flourish.”

The Bolton News:

Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi being briefed by police during Operation Avro last month

The stats show that 1,104 sexual offences, 14,310 violent offences, 3,279 incidents of criminal damage and arson, 541 drug offences, 383 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, 5,706 public order offences, 9,632 theft offences and 5,175 stalking and harassment offences were recorded in the space of just 12 months in Bolton.

This means that the borough’s crime rate stands at 125.8 for every 1,000 people, far higher than the rate of 89.3 across England and Wales as a whole.

For many representatives in Bolton, this also asks questions about policing and leadership at city region level.

Little Lever Cllr Sean Hornby said: “The first thing that people want to see is a more visible police presence, which doesn’t look like its going to happen.

“If the police want the public to go along with them, they’ve got to see something happen.”

He added: “They’re constantly changing the police we have for the area and then they’re changing them again before you even have a chance to meet them.

The findings unveiled by the ONS mark just the second time that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) was even able to supply this kind of data since the new IT system was introduced in July 2019, meaning that no comparison with last year’s crime rate is possible.

The figures come off the back of hard times for GMP, with Chief Constable Stephen Watson already having told Bolton Council that he would resign if he had not pulled the force out of 'special measure' by two years into his tenure.

The pledge was made when the Chief Constable addressed the council at a meeting last October to update the borough’s leadership on his plans for the force.

He is now one year into the job and representatives in Bolton say that they intend to hold him to his promise.

Cllr Hornby said: “If he’s not got us out of special measures by then I expect him to live up to that pledge and resign.

“I hope we’re not in that position and he can pull them out like he did with South Yorkshire.”

The Chief Constable has already claimed to have made progress, citing the reopening of the cells at Bolton Police Station on Scholey Street as one of his earliest actions as an example of this, which he says will be followed by other custody suites around the country.

He has also said the force has increasingly improved call answer times, with the average call answer time for 999 calls in June at 29 seconds, which is down from one minute and six seconds in June 2021.

The Bolton News:

Bolton Council cabinet member for stronger communities Cllr Mudasir Dean with GMP officers

The sentiment was echoed by council cabinet member for stronger communities, Cllr Mudasir Dean, who says that it is essentially that people continue to report their suspicions to officers.

He said: “Generally, when you look at crime one of the most positive things from GMP has been the time responding to people’s 999 calls.

“The figures have come down from something ridiculous, so there’s more reporting and also more reporting online.

“The Chief Constable wants to proactively lock criminals up so any time there’s a crime, please report it.”

In response to the figures, Superintendent Danny O’Neill, of GMP's Bolton district, said: “The statistics are based on data from March 2021 up to March 2022 and reflect a period of when the public were getting back to ‘normality’ following a series of lockdowns.

“As people were able live their lives, this unfortunately led to a rise in criminal offences and incidents that were report to Greater Manchester Police.

"Officers based in the Bolton area of Greater Manchester are committed to reducing these crimes under the national average.

“We have numerous proactive operations running throughout the district to help tackle the highest crime types, with dedicated officers working closely with the communities to ensure they are a safe place to live, work and visit.

“We have recently instigated Operation Overspill to tackle night-time economy crime and antisocial behaviour, that works alongisde Operation Lioness as part of our commitment to reduce violence against women and girls.

"These operations has been a success so far, and we continue to work with our partners and licensed premises to make Bolton feel safer for those who live, work and visit here.

“Week on week we are seeing more people being arrested for offences they have committed across Bolton. We are determined to maintain this trend.

"With regards to the rise in violent crime, this is because, as a force, we are accurately recording more crime daily than ever before, which naturally leads to an increase across all areas of crime.

“The best way we can successfully tackle any crime is to increase the number of officers on the streets and if you are interested in helping us to make a difference in the community then contact us via gmp.police.uk/recruitment.”