THE chief constable of Greater Manchester Police (GMP) resigned today after revelations that the force failed to record more than 80,000 crimes in the space of a year.

It came shortly after GMP was placed into special measures, under which the force will be closely monitored by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services.

In a report last week, the inspectorate said it was “deeply troubled” by how cases handled by GMP were closed without proper investigation.

The watchdog also said that the force’s lack of service to victims of crime was a “serious cause of concern.”

GMP failed to record about 80,100 crimes reported to it between July 1 2019 and June 30 2020, about 220 crimes a day.

A higher proportion of violent crime was not recorded, including domestic abuse and behavioural crimes such as harassment, stalking and coercive controlling behaviour.

In a statement, chief constable Ian Hopkins said: “These are challenging times for Greater Manchester Police.

“The force has a long-term strategic plan to address the issues raised by the HMIC and I believe this plan should be led by a chief constable who can oversee it from start to finish.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham announced the resignation.

Mr Burnham said that Mr Hopkins had led the force during “one of the most difficult periods in its history,” dealing with budget cuts and “complex threats” such as the Manchester Arena terror attack.

“In other important areas, however, the organisation has not made the progress needed.”

Deputy chief constable Ian Pilling will assume the operational duties of chief constable ahead of a full recruitment process, Mr Burnham said.