Reports made to police before escalation of crime - Greater Manchester Police, May 2021

In May 2021, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) received reports that a group of men had assaulted and threatened another man at knife point and stolen his electric bike, before fleeing in a blue car. 

The following day, GMP received reports that a group of men in the same blue car had attended an address in possession of machetes and knives, and then fled the scene. 

GMP attended the address. Later that day, GMP were informed that the blue car had returned to the same address, and it was recorded that the occupants of the car were in possession of knives, and had damaged a vehicle. GMP were then informed that a man had been stabbed; he was pronounced dead shortly after.    

We obtained witness statements from the officers who attended the first two incidents and statements from the control room staff. CCTV footage, police officers’ body-worn camera footage, and radio transmissions were analysed and compared.

Our investigation concluded in June 2023.

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. 

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. 

In this case, we identified organisational learning for GMP relating to the markers on national databases.