Greater Manchester Mayor Bev Craig says the region is now “one of the safest places in the country”, but admits people might not feel that way. The comments came as new figures from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority show police-recorded knife crime has fallen by 16pc, knife-enabled robbery by 21pc, and homicide by 28pc in the year ending June 2026. The homicide rate is now at its lowest level on record.
Campaign launch
The figures were announced as Ms Craig launched the next phase of the “I am Greater” campaign, which draws on the real-life experiences of role models to keep young people away from serious violence and knife crime. Led by the Greater Manchester Violence Reduction Unit and supported by Home Office funding, the project has been developed with young people and local radio station Unity Radio.
Ms Craig celebrated the fact crime is now down, but added: “That comes [with] a backdrop when over the last 15 years youth services were cut as well so we are trying to build things back up for people to do to show people there are positive things.
“You don’t have to get drawn into things that take you down the wrong path and say actually there’s a lot out there in support. It just shows what happens when you put young people’s voices front and centre in the kinds of programmes you run, all the agencies work together and you are able to work together to change a culture and get crime down.”
Perceptions versus reality
A major study from the Policy Institute at King’s College London earlier this year found that people’s perceptions of crime are going in the opposite direction to reality. It found 83pc think mobile phone theft has risen when it has fallen by around 70pc, majorities think domestic burglary and vehicle theft have risen when both have fallen by around 50pc, and 37pc think murder has risen when it is down around 20pc.
Ms Craig said: “We see across a backdrop in Greater Manchester when the vast majority of all crime is down but people still don’t feel safe and that doesn’t necessarily, without extra work, mean the stats translate into how people feel.
“There’s a job for us to do to talk about the actual position in Greater Manchester but also to understand why people don’t feel safe. Time and time again, young people tell me they feel more and more insecure, more and more anxious about the world they live in, and less safe where they live.
“We are investing into making sure they do feel safe through having dedicated people and youth workers outside of school that can help support them but also by being able to understand where they feel unsafe.
“That’s why we investing in the transport system to make that safer and we are really committed to tackling antisocial behaviour too. I think of all of this together in the round – stats down, better youth provision and more investment in our police will mean people feel safer.”
Investment and reassurance
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, she said there had been real strides off the back of investment in neighbourhood policing and tackling antisocial behaviour and drug dealing, adding: “All of this together whilst showing crime is down and people seeing people on the streets gives them that reassurance that actually we are one of the safest places in the country and we want to get crime down.”
Asked whether online misinformation could be driving people’s perceptions crime is up, she said: “Possibly but I also think we haven’t talked enough about the crimes we are reducing.
“It’s one of the reasons we are leading today with the fact knife crime is down by 16 per cent because looking at the media you wouldn’t believe that. If you read the constant stories we see in the media about crimes, nobody ever reports the overall picture.
“The more we share the overall picture that actually violent crime is significantly decreasing year on year, the more that begins to reassure people.”
Supporting the campaign, Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “This campaign celebrates that work and makes sure more young people know where they can find it. Their experiences, voices and ideas are at the heart of everything it stands for.
She added: “Preventing young people from being drawn into violence is a crucial part of this Government’s mission to halve knife crime within a decade, and campaigns like this have an important role to play alongside police enforcement, early intervention and community action.”
