Response to the independent Dame Vera Baird KC Inquiry on the safety of women and girls in custody

• The independent inquiry published today, 18 July 2024, finds serious failings in arrest and detention for the 14 complainants who came forward.
• More than 30 recommendations for local and national improvements to custody, arrest, complaints, strip searches and more.
• The report concludes seven of the 14 complainants were unlawfully arrested.
• GMCA and GMP will develop a delivery plan for the recommendations by the end of the summer.

An independent inquiry commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and Deputy Mayor for Policing, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire, Kate Green, into the experiences of women and girls arrested and taken into police custody in Greater Manchester, has published its findings.

The Inquiry was commissioned following a Sky News investigation into allegations of mistreatment of women held in police custody in Greater Manchester.

Since then, it has taken evidence from 14 complainants, including three men, who came forward to speak about their experiences between 2021 and 2023. It also considered anonymised contributions from trusted support organisations as well as insights from focus groups, independent custody visitors, police officers and civilian staff. Custody records, detention logs, witness statements, complaints materials and many hours of Body Worn Video (BWV) and CCTV were also examined.

The Inquiry report details troubling evidence of poor conduct in areas such as arrest, custody, strip-search, handling of domestic abuse cases, and complaints.

Recommendations to tackle these issues include setting up a panel that will regularly examine (using a process known as ‘dip-sampling’) arrest and custody records, strip search records and custody sergeant decisions.

These recommendations were informed by the shared experiences of the 14 complainants, whose accounts feature strongly in the report.

Read the full report here. 

Dame Vera Baird KC, author of the report, said: “It gives me no pleasure to have uncovered what I have in this report. I have been horrified by some of the things I have heard and I'm so grateful to the people who have come forward.

“It is a testament to their courage, reliving their traumatic experiences in the custody of GMP.

“This may have started about three people in one police station but the public responded to our call until the evidence spread across every district and custody suite in Greater Manchester.

“While this report contains 14 personal narratives, there is a pattern between them which raises questions about the culture at GMP.

“My findings show that there is significant and, indeed, urgent work required if the public of Greater Manchester are to have full confidence in their police force.

“My recommendations are carefully thought through, based on the evidence, and I feel certain that they provide a firm basis for change.

“I strongly urge the Mayor and Chief Constable to entirely abolish strip-searches for welfare reasons, in line with guidance from the College of Policing, and to ensure strong controls around searches for dangerous or illegal items.

“This is essential to protect the dignity and mental health of detainees, and I expect this to be implemented alongside fresh training for officers and scrutiny boards to hold conduct in custody practices to account.

“There are real problems shown through these arrests and the insufficiency of the custody Sergeants to offer a check on the appropriateness of detention. I have asked the Deputy Mayor to assemble a scrutiny panel to look at three monthly intervals at  range of arrests like these at the lower end of criminality and a batch of custody records, to ensure the problems highlighted in the cases in this report diminish fast pace.

“It has been a privilege to tell the stories of these fourteen people, and if these recommendations are implemented in full, their bravery will result in real and lasting change.”

Responding to the report, Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said:

“The safety of women and girls in Greater Manchester is a high personal priority for me.

“Likewise, I want people here to have confidence in their police force and I take my public duty to hold it to account extremely seriously.

“This explains why, when a Sky News broadcast in July 2023 featured disturbing accounts and distressing images of three woman in police custody, I immediately invited the former Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales to carry out an independent review.

“The Deputy Mayor and I asked Dame Vera Baird to report back to us on the experience of people arrested and taken into custody in our city-region with a particular focus on women and girls, on how GMP applies the law in respect of arrests and custody, and on the use of strip searches.

“Today we publish the Baird Inquiry and, though it makes difficult reading, I am in no doubt whatsoever it was the right thing to do.

“What it reveals is a problematic culture and practices that must change.

“Of the 15 people who spoke to the inquiry, Dame Vera concludes that seven were unlawfully arrested.

“As people will be able to read in the personal narratives, many of those people were vulnerable before their arrest, as survivors of domestic or sexual abuse, and did not pose a risk to the public.

“And yet, they were put through a demeaning experience of police custody and, in some cases, strip search.

“In all cases featured, there are examples of extremely poor, indefensible and inhumane treatment.

“A recurring pattern is what appears to be a lack of even-handedness in the investigation of disputes, where the more vulnerable person is reduced to a state of even greater vulnerability and those posing a greater risk to public safety do not receive the same attention.

“As the Deputy Mayor will outline later, we will be accepting all of Dame Vera’s recommendations and asking the Chief Constable to consider implementing significant changes with relation to arrest and use of custody. As she makes clear, the level of harm caused by these experiences is huge and the individuals concerned deserve an apology for what happened.

“I want to deal directly with the element of the report which will cause most concern to the public: strip searching.

“There are two justifications for carrying out such a search: to secure the welfare of the individual; or to look for concealed items.

“On the former, clothes are removed when individuals are thought to be at risk of causing self-harm, potentially with ripped clothing.

“Whilst this is ostensibly a decision taken out of consideration for an individual’s welfare, Dame Vera’s report makes it abundantly clear that it is entirely counter-productive: the welfare of people who experience strip searching is severely damaged by that process and the traumatising effect of it and doesn’t necessarily reduce the risk of self-harm in the moment or in the future. In short, a check designed for welfare in fact often destroys it.

“This is why we accept Dame Vera’s recommendation on this point.

“I want to see an end within six months of the use of strip searching for so-called ‘welfare’ cases in Greater Manchester and will ask the Chief Constable to consider moving instead to a practice based on observations.

“We accept that different considerations arise regarding the use of strip searching for concealed items.

“We support Dame Vera’s recommendations that GMP should ask officers first to consider all alternatives to strip searching and use of airport screening devices to eradicate degrading strip searching as much as possible.

“We also support her call for clarity over the level of authorisation needed for searches of this kind.

“In response, the Deputy Mayor and I will ask the Chief Constable to consider going further and introducing a presumption against strip searching.

“This is not the same as saying they can’t happen. But it is about creating a framework which makes it abundantly clear that they are a last resort, not an easy option, where the reason as to why there is no alternative must clearly be set out and then approved by a senior officer.

“The people who gave evidence to this inquiry are pretty much unanimous in feeling that strip searches as used as a ‘power trip’ or to demean them.

“We are not in a position to determine the extent to which it is true or otherwise but we know it is a strongly-held view and it would not be a success to see an end to welfare strip searches only for there to be a big increase in those justified on the grounds of looking for concealed items.

“Any strip search causes profound and lasting trauma for those subjected to them. We therefore need a new regime which restricts their use only to when they are strictly necessary.

“Finally, I want to address what this means for the improvement journey which GMP has been on since 2021.

“Of course, the cases featured in this report, and others like them, represent a small percentage of public interactions with GMP.

“The vast majority are satisfactory or better and GMP continues to improve across the board.

“Some of the issues identified by Dame Vera were also highlighted by the last HMIC inspection and action to address them has been underway for some time, as I sure the Chief Constable will explain.

“We continue to support his drive to raise the number of arrests to that which would be expected in a force of this size. What this report reveals is that, in the early stages, efforts to improve GMP met with a problematic culture in parts of the organisation which could not be eradicated overnight.

“We have a shared goal of a force good across most areas and outstanding in some. We are clear that will not be able to be achieved unless we are prepared to hold up a mirror to unacceptable cultures and practices.

“That is what we have done in asking Dame Vera to produce this report and it will now enable GMP to go further and deeper on its improvement journey.

“I want to thank most sincerely the people who came forward to give evidence to this review. You have given a voice to many others who will have gone through similar experiences and I am confident your courage will bring real change and mean others in future are less likely to experience what you did.

“We also thank Dame Vera for her valuable service to Greater Manchester. We will today send the Baird Inquiry to the new Home Secretary and ask her to consider adopting the recommendations as new national policy as we know the issues uncovered in this report are not confined to Greater Manchester but prevalent across the country.”

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said: “Firstly, I thank Dame Vera and those in the report for drawing together a number of critically important issues. To those given a voice by this inquiry who have not received the care and consideration they are entitled to: I am sorry.

“The issues raised in Dame Vera’s report speaks to a period when our custody system was under pressure and not performing to an acceptable standard.

“It evidences poor systems, structures, and incivility, compounded by a lack of routine leadership, scrutiny, and individual examples of low standards, poor behaviour, insensitivity, and a lack of care in the face of vulnerability.

“These issues are of the utmost importance and highlight the need to maintain the highest professional standards. These must reflect our duty, and moral obligation, to respect and uphold the dignity of all detainees but with a particular focus on women and girls.

“I know some of the questions this inquiry set out to answer have not yet been answered and some of these relate to allegations that have caused understandable shock and concern.

“These matters are all the subject of continuing independent investigation and GMP will continue to provide the fullest assistance to those charged with establishing the truth.

“All cases where allegations of serious criminal conduct are made will always be taken extremely seriously and any instances of wrongdoing will be relentlessly pursued and my track record speaks for itself in exited people not fit to wear the uniform.

“We accept the recommendations in this report. We commit to implementing them fully and faithfully with a view to making lasting improvements.

“Our ability to take forward the recommendations is immensely strengthened by the substantial progress we have already made.

“We will work with others to ensure that all of the wider recommendations are fully considered and, wherever possible, will seek out opportunities for GMP to play a leading role in their practical implementation to ensure the people of GM get the best possible service.”

Deputy Mayor for Police, Crime, Criminal Justice and Fire, Kate Green, said: “This report makes distressing reading, and I am determined to take the steps necessary to give effect to Dame Vera’s recommendations. Dame Vera suggests a number of important measures to improve scrutiny and oversight of GMP’s treatment of those in their custody, and I am establishing a Mayoral Oversight Group to take forward the recommendations and ensure their swift delivery.

“This will include the creation of a new panel to carry out dip-sampling of arrests and wider custody issues, and a strengthened professional presence in custody suites to support our Independent Custody Visitors.

“GMP have already begun an extensive custody improvement programme in response to HMICFRS’s critical report received last year, including a programme of work to increase voluntary attendance, rolling out trauma training, female welfare officers are now assigned to all female detainees and sanitary products are in cells along with welcome packs.

“Nearly all of those featured in the reports made official complaints and I believe that the failure of GMP to deal with these swiftly and effectively has compounded the damaging experience they had in custody.

“I had already strengthened my scrutiny of GMP’s complaints handling process. GMP are in the process of moving to a centralised complaints process with fewer cases being handled by local policing districts, something which has previously made responses fragmented and inconsistent. They have also increased their capacity to deal with complaints.

“But there is still a long way to go. The Mayor and I are committed to ensuring that our police force continues to improve so that they deliver the care and dignity to those in their custody that they rightly expect and deserve.”

ENDS

 

Support for Victims and Survivors

If you or somebody you know has been affected by the issues dealt with in the Baird Inquiry and would like to access some support to help you deal with these issues, we would recommend the following: 

Greater Manchester Victims’ Services provides support for all victims of reported and unreported crime in Greater Manchester. The service is available weekdays from 8am to 8pm and Saturdays from 9am to 5pm via phone: 0800 876 6155 or email: GMVictims@catch22.org.uk 

Manchester Women’s Aid - www.pankhursttrust.org - 0161 660 7999 

We Are Survivors - support to male victims in Greater Manchester. 0161 236 2182. 

If you are struggling to cope or having suicidal thoughts, call the Samaritans 24/7 on 116 123. 

If you are not satisfied with Greater Manchester Police, you can make a complaint to GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate. If you wish to make a complaint, you can do so by sending an email to: complaints@gmp.police.uk or by using the online form on the GMP website, which can be found below: Complaints | Greater Manchester Police (gmp.police.uk) 

If you are not satisfied with how your complaint has been handled by the Professional Standards Directorate, you may be able to request an independent review by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). 

Please note, a review cannot reinvestigate a complaint and will only consider whether the handling of the complaint, by the Professional Standards Directorate, was reasonable and proportionate.  

If you wish to submit a request for review, you can do so by following the link below: Police Review - Form - Greater Manchester Combined Authority (greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk), or by sending an email to: police.reviews@greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk 

If you have been affected by these issues, please contact Greater Manchester Victims’ Services on 0800 876 6155 or GMVictims@catch22.org.uk between 8am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays. 

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Article Published: 18/07/2024 12:35 PM