About

If we are to reduce crime and prevent people from becoming trapped in cycles of offending, we must first understand it. That is not easy. Crime is rarely the product of a single choice or circumstance; it is shaped by a web of social, economic, and personal factors that reach far beyond the moment an offence takes place. Recognising this complexity is challenging, but without doing so, we risk responding only to the symptoms rather than the causes. We must also understand the impact of crime on people and communities if we are to provide reassurance and build a consensus as to how we might collectively reduce harm and offending.

In Greater Manchester, we have never shied away from difficult challenges. We know that some of the people who come into repeated contact with the justice system are not there simply because of their offending, but because of poverty, trauma, poor health, and a lack of secure housing. These are the root causes of crime, and unless we address them head on, the revolving door of crisis and custody will keep turning. But we must do this recognising that antisocial and disruptive behaviour can blight people’s lives and local communities. We need to ensure that personal accountability is not ignored, and adopt an approach that seeks to rehabilitate, build resilience, reassure people that their voices are heard, and protect the public.

This report underlines why we must act differently. It shows with clarity how siloed services, late interventions and a reliance on short prison sentences entrench problems instead of solving them. But it also shows that there is another way: one that listens to people with lived experience – learns from them, joins up data and services, and intervenes earlier and more effectively.

Here in Greater Manchester, we are committed to that approach. We are proud to be a trailblazer, bringing together policing, probation, health, housing and the voluntary sector around a shared vision of prevention and support. We also commission victim services. Our Protect: Enforce: Change approach takes a whole-system approach to diversion that keeps people safe, and enables access to support and treatment while ensuring appropriate, fair and proportionate justice outcomes for victims and perpetrators.

We are building on the strengths of our devolved system to design responses that are rooted in people’s real lives, not the convenience of bureaucracies. The evidence in these pages makes clear the prize for doing so. If we can take a whole-system approach, we will not only reduce reoffending and ease pressure on overstretched services, we will also save public money, reduce crime, and most importantly, give people the chance to rebuild their lives. This is about safer communities, fewer victims, and a justice system that is smarter and fairer.

I want to pay tribute to Revolving Doors and to the people with lived experience whose voices are central to this report. Their insight is essential. They know better than anyone what works, and what needs to change. Their contribution has given this report not just authority, but humanity and hope.

Now is the moment to take a step change. The evidence is clear, the tools are at our disposal, and the case for action could not be stronger. Greater Manchester wants to lead the way, showing that when services work together, when we listen to those with lived experience, and when we are prepared to tackle causes as well as consequences, we can break the cycle of crisis and crime.

We hope what we do here will point a way for others to follow, and will help to show that real change is possible.