Statement from Chief Constable Stephen Watson

Good afternoon, I am Stephen Watson, the Chief Constable for Greater Manchester.

I thank the Mayor for commissioning this report and Dame Vera for her efforts in drawing together a number of critically important issues. I acknowledge the shock and concern that will have been generated by the media report which gave rise to this commission.  I thank those who came forward to inform this review and acknowledge their courage in so doing.

Whilst this report speaks to some uncomfortable truths, it, and others like it, always provide valuable insights and form an important part of what it is to be an accountable leader and public servant. The GMP that I lead is open to review and objective scrutiny and is driven by a desire to get things right for the people whom we serve. I accept the recommendations in this report and commit to making lasting improvements.

The vast majority of our custody staff are highly professional and committed despite the pressures of working in such a challenging environment. Our ability however, to gain and retain the very fullest confidence of the public, in the decency of our custody arrangements, is critical. We look forward to working closely with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor to become a genuine exemplar in this area aided by the establishment of enduring, comprehensive and independent scrutiny arrangements.

The majority of the cases highlighted in this report speak to a period when GMP were in ‘special measures’; our custody system was clearly under pressure and struggling to perform to an acceptable standard.  It evidences poor systems, structures and processes compounded by a lack of routine leadership scrutiny and some individual examples of incivility, insensitivity and being uncaring in the face of vulnerability.

These issues are of the utmost importance given the fact that vulnerable people can easily be rendered more vulnerable in circumstances where we do not maintain the highest professional standards. Such standards must of course reflect our duty, and our moral obligation, to respect and uphold the dignity of all detainees but with a specific focus on women and girls whose particular confidence the force must be anxious to secure.

To those given voice by this Inquiry who have not received the care and consideration that they are entitled to – I am sorry.

In September 2022, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Care Quality Commission conducted a joint comprehensive Custody Inspection of GMP.  This inspection largely coincided with the period also under scrutiny by Dame Vera’s Inquiry.  Their report, subsequently made publicly available, was similarly highly critical of that which they discovered. 

The themes highlighted - very substantially mirror those which feature in Dame Vera’s report. Immediately following the joint HMICFRs / CQC Inspection, GMP gave very powerful effect to a comprehensive £3.1m Action Plan designed to address those shortcomings legitimately exposed. 

It included new capable senior leadership, a 62% uplift in staffing (some 140 additional personnel); and investment in technology and training. A further £7.4m is currently being expended in refurbishing and expanding our custody estate.

Our custody staff have worked hard and have embraced the need for change and in revisiting GMP in December last year, HMICFRS reported very positively on progress to the extent that all of the highlighted causes of concern were downgraded to areas for improvement. The work to address the majority of the areas for improvement is now assessed as complete; and with those remaining elements of the programme being at an advanced stage of implementation.

Whilst much clearly remains to be done, and elements of Dame Vera’s report are distinct from those highlighted by HMICFRS; it is the case that our ability to take forward the recommendations made today is immensely strengthened by the substantial progress made thus far.

A number of additional, practical and beneficial steps have already been taken – for example:

• GMP no longer uses 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.

And ..

• A centralised standards and compliance team now examine between 150-200 examples of detentions per month to ensure adherence to the highest standards.

Insofar as our response to Dame Vera’s findings as a whole, we have today published, on the force website, a comprehensive response to each of the recommendations.

Notwithstanding the significance of this report’s findings, it is legitimate in this circumstance to describe an important element of context in GMP’s contemporary journey.

Just three years ago, the force was formally adjudged to be failing. GMP were then failing even to record a quarter of crimes reported - let alone investigate them.  The imperative to properly record crime and to investigate all reasonable lines of enquiry inevitably, and rightly, led to the rapid growth in the number of arrests seen in GMP. 

This in turn created great pressure across a variety of functions: Custody, Forensics and Criminal Justice to name but a few.  It has been this dynamic which partly speaks to some of the weaknesses exposed and has driven a well-established force recovery plan which has resulted in myriad improvements across all facets of our performance. 

Indeed, GMP’s improvements have outstripped that being achieved anywhere else in the country for two consecutive years. With a single exception, the force is now rated adequate or good in all things – an unprecedented turnaround.

Whilst arrests have more than doubled, they are not, nor have ever been, considered an end in themselves.  Arrests are merely part of the process in obtaining better outcomes for victims of crime.

Our having increased the arrest of domestic abusers by 150% for example - has led to more offenders being brought to justice; an increased confidence to report these types of offences to the police; and, during the last 12 months, a 13.7% reduction in offences being committed. This in turn has contributed to our sustaining a 26% reduction in homicides which are now at the lowest level in over a decade.

In short, whilst GMP has doubled its arrests, it has commensurately and significantly, increased the numbers of positive outcomes for victims of crime; and demonstrates why GMP is the only force in England and Wales to have been adjudged by HMICFRS to have improved our investigative standards over the past 2 years.

This focus on improved investigations and the strides, both complete and well underway, to improve our complaints handling system – something of the highest priority - will complement all that is being done to improve our custody function in line with Dame Vera’s recommendations.

I know that some of the questions this inquiry set out to answer have not yet been answered and some of these relate to allegations which have caused understandable disquiet. These matters are still subject to continuing independent investigation and GMP will continue to provide the fullest assistance to those charged with establishing the truth.

But let me be very clear – I take all cases where criminal conduct is alleged extremely seriously. Any instances of criminal wrong-doing in GMP will be relentlessly pursued and my track record in exiting people, unfit to wear the uniform, speaks for itself.

I will conclude by repeating our fulsome acceptance of Dame Vera’s recommendations and to implementing them fully and faithfully.  Some of the recommendations relate to other parties; The Home Office, The Mayor’s Office, NPCC and the College of Policing.  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.

Thank you.