Andy Burnham has told voters to "hold me accountable at the ballot box" should there have not been improvement at Greater Manchester Police (GMP) before the next mayoral election.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services this week issued a second blistering verdict on the police force in the space of ten months.
They said the force was "failing to respond to calls from the public" and highlighted "significant delays" saying '"it has now reached the point where we are concerned about public safety in Greater Manchester."
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The Mayor of Greater Manchester, who is this week lobbying the Conservative conference for a £ 1 billion per year investment from government to fund a new integrated public transport system, was grilled on the failings on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show.
Asked if women were safe in the city, Mr Burnham, whose role includes him serving as the region's police and crime commissioner, said: "It's no where near good enough and we have acknowledged that.
"It's why I changed the leadership of Greater Manchester Police and there is a new chief constable who is in position and has set out his plan for the force just a month or so ago.
"It's a big change. He's saying we won't have crimes screened out, we will investigate all crimes, we will attend all household burglaries and we will make women and girls safety in this city a much higher priority.
"It's important we don't get ourselves into a position where we're saying 'everything is awful, nothing is good' and running the down the police. Because the police officers out there on the streets of Greater Manchester are doing a good job in keeping people safe.
"But that is not to say things don't need to improve, they do need to improve."
GMP's new chief constable Stephen Watson vowed to fix the problems but said he would quit if the force was not in a "demonstrably better place" within two years.
Asked if he would make the same commitment, Mr Burnham, who in May won a majority for a second term as mayor until 2024 said: "That's refreshing isn't it.
"Two years - there's not an election in two years time.
"But I would absolutely want to be held directly to account at the next election for the change in Greater Manchester Police.
"Because this is my appointment. So the two of us are very much working together.
"There will be an improvement, in Greater Manchester Police, by the next election, or people can hold me to account at the ballot box, at that next election."
He insisted that he had acted on the previous warnings issued by HMIC over the force's performance in 2017, 2019 and last year.
"The biggest thing any police and crime commissioner can do is change the leadership," he said.
"You can't interfere in day-to-day policing.
"The former chief constable often said 'we're independent, you can't tell us what to do.'
"You have to use the power you have."
Mr Burnham said in respect of the current issues the force is facing "you cannot get away from the cuts" citing the fact the force lost around 2,000 officers as a result of government austerity measures, and that the resources were 'not there to meet the demand' put on it by the public in a city and region of this size.
However he said: "I would acknowledge it's not all about the cuts, the leadership wasn't right in Greater Manchester Police, and also the culture wasn't right, and I think the Met (Metroploitan Police) has something of the same and that needs to change."
Yesterday Mr Burnham made a public pitch for government funding for the Bee Network - a 'London-style' transport network for Greater Manchester including trams, publicly run buses and a bike rental scheme.
He and a cross-party group of local political and business leaders - including Bolton's Tory council leader, Martyn Cox - are embarking on several days of lobbying for £1 billion for the scheme while the Conservative conference is in the city.
Speaking in the shadow of the Midland Hotel, where key government personnel are staying for the conference he said he was presenting a 'positive offer' and said that a repeat of a repeat last year’s stand-off with Boris Johnson over Covid-19 restriction funding 'won’t necessarily help people', but insisted: "We never back down from an argument."
"If the government won’t back us, I think that will tell the public here something about their approach to levelling up, if it’s about their favoured towns getting money or only the Tory mayors getting money" he said.
"People will make their own judgements at the next election whether that’s an acceptable strategy."
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