99 new police constables welcomed in GMP attestation ceremony

Greater Manchester Police welcomed 99 brand new police constables into its ranks this week in an attestation ceremony at Sedgley Park.

The event took place on Wednesday 31 May across two different groups, and is the culmination of months of hard work from all involved.

The new officers were sworn-in by Assistant Chief Constable Chris Sykes and Magistrate Joan Cooper, promising to uphold the key values and principles that GMP expects from all within the service.

GMP recently celebrated having more than 8,000 officers for the first time in ten years and the 99 PCs will soon be joining their new colleagues as fully-fledged officers in their new response roles.

From the bustling streets of Manchester City Centre to the rural beauty spots of Bolton, GMP’s new officers will be serving every resident across the entirety of Greater Manchester to the best of their abilities.

ACC Sykes spoke to the new officers and offered his best wishes and support, utilising his own expertise from his 28-year-long career in Greater Manchester Police for a question-and-answer session with the intake.

ACC Sykes said: “Greater Manchester Police is a brilliant organisation to be coming into at this time. As you’ll all probably know, we’ve been recruiting massively over the last couple of years and we’ve grown by a good 1,500-2,000 officers.

“We're the most rapidly improving police force in the country, so this is a great place to work. You will be serving a brilliant community of about three million people across a very large area packed with lots of diversity.

“You’re going to get so many different opportunities and it’s going to be a very exciting time for you. You’re starting off in response but as you go along in your career – which could well be for the next 35-40 years, you’ll have the chance to explore so many options. Whether that’s working in specialist operations, working with dogs or our mounted units, becoming detectives: the world really is your oyster and I hope that you take every opportunity available to you.

“Good luck with your careers and welcome to Greater Manchester Police.”