GMP response to the Dame Vera Baird’s report into the treatment of people in custody

We have apologised and accepted the recommendations of an inquiry into the treatment of people in our custody that was commissioned following serious allegations in June 2023.

Dame Vera Baird’s report was published today (18 July) and identified issues around our use of arrest, care for domestic and sexual abuse survivors, treatment of women and men in custody, use of strip-search, and the handling of complaints.

While some improvements to address Dame Vera’s recommendations have already been made, we fully acknowledge there is much more to do around the cultural practice of strip-search, particularly for welfare purposes.

We welcome an opportunity to work with national policing leads to accelerate our intention to cease strip-searches for welfare reasons, and to improve clarity and scrutiny around the grounds of a strip-search.

It is also vital we continue to gain the trust and confidence of survivors and we are committed to ensuring all our officers have better trauma-informed training to ensure the most appropriate response is given to those who are vulnerable and need our care.

We understand the shock and concern of many who will have seen the media coverage that prompted the commissioning of this report by the Mayor of Greater Manchester last year.

We have fully engaged with Dame Vera’s report and continue to provide all requested and available materials in relation to ongoing investigations relating to the inquiry.

Dame Vera’s wide-ranging inquiry involves cases that are either currently under investigation by the IOPC or our Professional Standards Directorate (PSD), are subject to legal action, or have been investigated.

Anyone in the report who hasn’t previously made a complaint will be being contacted by our dedicated unit for professional standards.

We are fully committed to doing all we can so the public can have faith in our protection of women, girls and vulnerable people, and in continuing to improve the complaints process.

We have already acted in a number of areas to improve our service in custody:

• We no longer use anti-tear clothing.
• Every female detainee has appointed to her a dedicated female welfare officer.
• Bespoke sealed packs, which contain feminine sanitary products, are proactively issued to all female detainees.
• Strip searches are more transparently recorded, tightly governed and scrutinised.
• A centralised standards and compliance team now examine between 150-200 examples of detentions per month to ensure adherence to the highest standards.  

The improvements in GMP since we were placed in ‘special measures’ in 2020 has seen us work to protect those we serve with us responding more quickly to incidents, arresting more suspects at the scene, recording and investigating all crime, bringing more offenders to justice, and bringing down crime.

This includes an increase in the arrests of domestic abusers 150% accounting for nearly a third of all arrests. We have doubled the number of rape crimes solved and continue to work closely with partner agencies across GM to safeguard survivors and protect them from harm.

Where the public hasn’t had the service they expect from us, we have worked to improve our complaints system and are now ‘rooting out’ and ‘booting out’ those unfit to wear the uniform.

Over the last two years, we have tripled the rate in which we’ve been dismissing officers who should not be in our uniform with the Chief Constable overseeing the removal of 86 officers.

A significant amount of the concerns raised were highlighted by an inspection from His Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary (HMICFRS) published in February 2023 where six causes of concern and 13 areas of improvement were identified.

We swiftly acted with a comprehensive plan worth £3.1million to address these concerns.

It included new and increased leadership, extra staff, additional technology and training, and greater accountability.

In addition, £7.5million is being invested for the reopening and refurbishment of Longsight custody. It will be our largest custody site and is set to become a flagship custody centre.

In revisiting GMP in December 2023, HMICFRS concluded significant progress had been made such that they downgraded the six ‘causes of concern’. The work to address the majority of the areas for improvement is now assessed as complete.

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 a custody system under pressure not performing to an acceptable standard.

“It evidences poor systems, structures, and incivility, insensitivity and 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 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.”