The news came at a time when we were reviewing figures for the year up to the start of April, which show that we have had the lowest number of murders in Greater Manchester for 19 years. Although this is very welcome it is of little comfort to the families of the 30 victims.

The reduction in murders has come about because we have been successful in reducing the level of domestic violence and therefore the number of murders between people known to one another but we also have a much more effective system of monitoring violent offenders and those carrying out sexual offences. Advances in DNA means we are capturing killers before they go on to kill again so we don't get some of the serial killings we got 20 years ago.

Despite the tragic death of Cody we have also seen a considerable reduction in knife crime due to much effort with other agencies to get the message across to young people. We have also made much use of stop and search and knife arches to act as a deterrent to those who would arm themselves.

The biggest reduction we have seen has been in cases of domestic violence encouraging more victims to come forward and taking more robust action against offenders.

It is also fair to point out that part of the reduction over time is due to the fact that the medical profession has got better at saving those with serious injuries and paramedics get to the scenes of attacks much faster.

Out of the 35 cases of murder and manslaughter we dealt with last year 25 victims were male and 10 female. There were three babies and two people over the age of 65. Five were killed with knives and five with firearms. Monday was the most dangerous day of the week.

These statistics are interesting and show that Greater Manchester is getting safer. For those who like statistics we have introduced new information on to our website to show you day by day how we are doing at answering telephone calls and responding to incidents. This is a sign of our wish to be seen to be more open and accountable and to provide more information to the public.

On visiting one of our control rooms I saw another development, which will further improve the service. We have now installed software, which will show to our call takers not only the name and address of the caller but also show any calls made to us on that number before. This immediately allows call takers to see that someone has had problems before or has an ongoing case with us. The system also shows the call taker the local policing priorities of the area where the caller lives and what police are doing about them. This means that if for instance someone rings about scrambler bikes causing a nuisance we can see if the caller has had problems before and what action the local policing team are taking. At the same time we now have satellite tracking of our police vehicles so we can see immediately which officer is nearest to the scene. This is a long way from when joined the Police when you just had a radio microphone to talk into, a phone and a message pad.

This week I was at one of our regular award ceremonies this time at Tameside. There were long service medals and certificates handed out to members of our staff and commendations for bravery and exceptional work. What gave me a lot of pleasure however was to hand out awards to local citizens for showing great courage when faced with criminals. Two elderly gents had intervened during a knifepoint robbery at their social club and detained one of the offenders. One man had gone next door when his elderly neighbourhood was being attacked and had frightened off the offender. A young girl, 14 at the time of the incident, had shown great bravery during a violent assault and the subsequent court case. These were all great examples of members of the public not stepping aside but taking their own stand against crime. I certainly am not saying that everyone has to intervene but neither would I advise that people should not intervene when they see something happening. It is for every each person to know their own capability and make their own judgement using their own common sense.

For most people seeing a crime occur the best thing they can do is to contact the police and try and remember as best they can what happened and a detailed description of those involved numbers of cars etc. It may be safe to take a mobile phone picture or to follow at a safe distance as long as you are not putting yourself or others at risk. A policy of saying that no-one should get involved just means the criminals have a free run of the place.

Some will say that if you "have a go" then you yourself will end up being arrested. This has happened in a very small number of high profile cases sometimes to allow officers to make sense of what might be a complicated incident but as these awards show we celebrate those who get involved.

The law is quite clear in allowing those who are trying to prevent crime, protect themselves or their property or trying to detain someone who they believe is committing a crime to use reasonable force to do so.

I spoke to one of the elderly gents who had intervened when their social club was being robbed. I said it must have been quite frightening. He told me not at all, that he had been in the Navy and dealt with far worse when part of a shore party during riots in Singapore. His only complaint was that he had felt he should wear a tie for the award ceremony and sailors don't wear ties!

Police officers love to see people who take a stand and all the award winners got a long round of applause. We joined the job to see criminals locked up and the place made safer and its great when members of the public lend a hand.

Peter Fahy
Chief Constable