Greater Manchester Police closed an investigation into an alleged assault after a suspect failed to engage with contact attempts, and subsequent arrest efforts were hampered by operational pressures.
The victim, Emily Geer, 33, was told that 'multiple attempts' were made to progress the case and arrange a 'voluntary attendance' at a police station. When these failed, the force said 'arrest attempts' and requests for arrest were unsuccessful due to 'operational demand and resource pressures'. The statutory time limit for commencing proceedings then expired, leading to the investigation being closed.
Victim's account and evidence
Geer, a law student from Newton Heath, reported that a man followed her and another woman on Oxford Road, Manchester, at around 7.20am on April 16 as she walked to study at the University of Manchester. She filmed the man after he kept 'stopping and looking back' at her, and the footage, seen by the Manchester Evening News, appears to show him lashing out at her.
Geer said she reported the incident immediately, provided the footage, and gave a face-to-face statement to an officer at her home before receiving a crime reference number. She said the police 'seemed quite pleased with the evidence' and were positive.
Police response and closure
In a text message sent on Saturday (November 7), an investigating officer explained that efforts to secure a voluntary attendance included correspondence, telephone contact, and requests for local officers to attend the suspect's home address, but the suspect did not engage. Arrest attempts and requests were then made, but ongoing operational demand and resource pressures limited these enquiries.
The message stated: "The statutory time limit for commencing proceedings has now expired. Unfortunately, this means no further action can be taken against with this offence, and the investigation have to be closed."
Victim's reaction and force statement
Geer said she is angry, disappointed, and fearful, as the man knows she wanted him arrested, but he has not been and is now unlikely to be. She said: "I am left questioning how women in Manchester are supposed to feel safe when, despite reporting assaults and providing evidence, investigations can seemingly come to an end because the individual involved does not respond to police correspondence or is not home when officers visit."
GMP said: "We acknowledge that in this case, the investigation fell short of the standards our communities should expect. Learnings will be taken from it to ensure that investigations are progressed quickly to ensure the best possible outcome for victims."
The force added that violence against women and girls remains a key priority, and that more than twice as many victims of crime have received justice in the year up to September 2026 compared to the year up to May 2021, with 31,093 solved victim-based crimes compared to 14,268. It also noted that arrests have more than doubled, with 73,059 arrests made in the year up to September 2026, up from 33,555.
