Opinion (John Hardcastle) - GMP: Time to ring the changes?

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable, Sir Peter Fahy

It was the American president, Harry S Truman who famously had an engraved plaque on his desk in the Oval Office bearing the legend, "The buck stops here". It is perhaps a matter of some historical regret that a later successor, Richard Milhouse Nixon didn't inherit this piece of advice when he entered the White House. It might have saved the country a lot of pain and persuaded him to resign much earlier than he did if he had realised that with power comes weighty responsibilities.

Sir Peter Fahey, Chief Constable of the Greater Manchester Police, is a man who should know all about the responsibilities that come with leadership. The Rochdale grooming scandal took place on his watch and on his beat. There are no ifs, buts or maybes here.

The culture within large organisations is set by those at the top. They can't know every detail of every case but they can and should set the pace and style within which its business is progressed. In the way that GMP failed to deal with complaints, failed to support victims or even uphold the law of the land, it has been found seriously wanting. For that, Sir Peter bears a heavy burden of responsibility.

Yes, he has apologised. Yes, he has accepted the findings of the Serious Case Reviews and yes, he has assured us that those famous lessons will be learned. There is one lesson that Sir Peter doesn't appear to have learned and that is that there is a public expectancy that when those in high office are weighed and found wanting, they should resign, taking their inflation-proofed pensions with them.

And what of Tony Lloyd, our new Police Commissioner? You know, the one with the well-publicised power to hire and fire Chief Constables. Has he not at least called Sir Peter into his office and over a seasonal glass of sherry perhaps advised him that now might just be an excellent time to get out of Dodge City?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that the replacement of our Chief Constable will stop grooming. I'm not even saying that all victims of paedophilia and sexual violence will find a friendly, helpful ear to talk into down at their local nick. But, if the right man or woman is appointed, it could and should ensure that there is a change of culture, priorities and direction within the force that will ensure that a new impetus for dealing with these cases is instilled throughout the service and woe betide those who fail to support victims and uphold the law.

According to the CPS, there are many more historical cases to pursue and more hard work needs to be done; possibly for several years. We've tried it your way Sir Peter and it clearly hasn't worked. You've got your knighthood and your pension and I'm sure you can always earn a bit of pin money by sitting on committees or picking up a consultancy with a private security company here and there but we think it's time for you to clear your desk and make way for someone else.

The buck, you will remember, stops here!