Former Oldham counter-terrorism officer Lee jumped at his chance to return to GMP

An ex-Oldham counter-terrorism officer is among more than 30 former officers who are to rejoin Greater Manchester Police as part of its latest recruitment drive.

A group of 15 with a combined service of more than 400 years were re-attested at Force Headquarters on Friday (February 10).

The group was made up of nine PCs, five sergeants and a detective chief inspector with previous experience including CID, firearms, child protection and roads policing.

Chief Superintendent Niall Hayden-Pawson, of GMP’s Police Uplift Programme, said: “The returning officers have a wide range of skills that are exactly what GMP is looking for.

“We have officers and uniformed sergeants returning to frontline duties in our districts including City of Manchester, Rochdale, Salford and Trafford, as well officers working in a number of different force areas including custody, special operations, firearms and response roles.

“Some of them have really missed working at GMP and wanted to come back to work for us again.

“They will now undergo a three-week training course, which is a lot shorter than the 19 weeks that new student officers undergo.

“That means the process is cost-effective as we have already invested previously in these people, plus it assists us with the uplift in numbers that the chief constable has promised as part of his Plan on a Page.”

The new officers took The Oath at Force Headquarters on Friday in the presence of magistrate Barry Frost.

In total, 33 officers are coming back to GMP in the next couple of months through the re-engagement scheme advertised in September last year to fill a variety of roles with two more groups due to be attested in March.

One returning officer is Detective Chief Inspector Lee Hopwood, who spent almost 30 years at GMP in Oldham and Rochdale, and last worked in counter-terrorism.

He will be taking up a new role in GMP’s Investigations Inspection Team to work in the background and advise on ongoing investigations.

DCI Hopwood, 52, who originally joined the force in 1992, said: “I spent 29-and-a-half years at GMP and wasn’t really ready to go, and I returned within a month as a civilian to teach student detectives.

“I did that for a year but when I saw the opportunity to return to the force, I jumped at it.

“All of the returning officers bring a huge amount of experience, experience that would be lost otherwise.”

---

Do you have a story for us? Want to tell us about something going on in and around Oldham? Let us know by emailing news@oldham-chronicle.co.uk , calling our Oldham-based newsroom on 0161 633 2121 , tweeting us @oldhamchronicle or messaging us through our Facebook page. All contact will be treated in confidence.