News
New Head of HR
Officers star in film to tackle hoax calls GMP staff became stars of the small screen as they took part in a short film to teach young people about the consequences of hoax calls. ‘Malicious’, a DVD targeting school pupils has been piloted in a local school to address antisocial behaviour, with plans to roll it out to schools across Greater Manchester. Filmed on location in Stockport and the brainchild of exSenior Magistrate Len Howarth, Malicious is a 30minute short film that shows viewers the life of ‘Jake’ – a teenager that spends his spare time making false calls to the police and fire services. During the programme viewers see Jake being arrested, interviewed, charged, appearing at court and remanded in custody after multiple hoax phone calls were traced to him. Len, local magistrate for seventeen years, first approached Stockport
College with the idea back in 2012, and with the help of GMP, GMFRS and other partners, a small campaign quickly escalated into a 12month project to create a short film worth thousands of pounds. The partnership approach meant real costs were minimal, with time, space and experience given for free, or as cheaply as possible. The filming, acting and production was undertaken by Stockport College, and GMP worked in association with partners including Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, the Prison Service, GEOAmey, witness/victim service and the GMP Museum to produce the DVD. Seven GMP staff make cameo appearances, including five neighbourhood officers from the Stockport Division and call handlers Amanda Hitchen and Emma Orr.
REPRESENTING OUR COMMUNITIES: Fifty three of the Force’s newest PCSOs are pictured during their passing out parade at Sedgley Park. The event was at tended by the Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable. The new recruits will be spread across all Divisions and some have been selected from our diverse communities as part of Operation Peel. More PCSO colleagues will be joining GMP in the near future. 10 Brief 40th anniversary edition Spring 2014
DENISE Hill (pictured above) recently joined GMP as the new Head of HR Services. Brief caught up with her to find out about her role and what experience she brings to GMP. Where did you work before joining GMP? I worked for Derbyshire Constabulary for 15 years in HR and training. Before then I also spent about eight years in the commercial sector working for Whitbread plc. What changes will we see in the future around HR services? Like Derbyshire, GMP is changing to meet the demands of the economic climate and we need to be able to invest in technology and collaborate with partners so that we can still provide the right services to managers and all our staff. Our vision is to change the way staff access information by creating a flexible service that empowers managers to make decisions and allows individuals to take responsibility for their own work life balance. This will create a real change to the relationship between managers, staff and the HR function but an important step change in the current financial climate. What do you think of GMP so far? I am really excited to join GMP at a time of transformation. Despite a lot of recent changes have found everyone I have met so far to be very welcoming and nothing has been too much trouble. Denise is married with two daughters and one granddaughter. She was brought up in the Peak District and continues to live there. In her spare time she loves walking, riding and gardening.