If Greater Manchester Police was a Premier League football team, they're a few points adrift of safety and facing relegation.
The board sacked Ian Hopkins mid-season and in came the policing equivalent of Sam Allardyce. Like Big Sam, Stephen Watson has a well-earned reputation for miraculous escapes.
He did it at South Yorkshire Police. Our new chief constable is really a rugby man but he appreciates a good metaphor whatever the sport: recent results have been great, team morale is good and, if the results keep coming and the upward trajectory is maintained, relegation will be avoided. READ MORE: Did 'gang bosses' escape because cops were squabbling?
The allegations rocking GMP The results are impressive: 999 calls are being answered much more quickly, arrests have almost doubled, the number of people charged has risen sharply, response times have been slashed and the use of stop and search has soared.
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