Greater Manchester’s women and girls are facing a threat to their safety from the services meant to protect them. Between 2016-2020, over 150 Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Officers were accused of sexual misconduct.¹

A 2021 report2 into GMP found that black people were more likely to be arrested, tasered and searched by GMP than white people. GMP were four times more likely to use force against black people in comparison to white people, 2.8 times more likely to arrest them, 5.7 times more likely to use a Taser on them, and 5.3 times more likely to use stop and search powers against them.

The despicable conduct of Metropolitan police officers following the murders of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman in 2020, and the horrific murder of Sarah Everard in 2021 by Wayne Couzens, a serving Met officer, sent shockwaves across the country. A damning report, published in 2022 by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS)3 found that police officers in forces across the UK were openly using their powers to harass and abuse women. It made 43 recommendations to address misogyny, misconduct and vetting to be implemented in every police force, including GMP.

In 2022, HMICFRS conducted a joint inspection with the Care Quality Commission of GMP custody facilities.4  The report made six recommendations addressing areas of significant concern and highlighted 13 additional areas for improvement to GMP and its police and crime commissioner. The report found “Detainee dignity isn’t always protected, especially when clothing is removed. Some detainees are left naked in cells. This is a cause of concern”. 

Demand urgent change

The Greater Manchester Mayor, currently Andy Burnham, is also the Police and Crime Commissioner for the region and as such has responsibility to hold Greater Manchester Police to account. Andy Burnham is up for election for a third term as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

In response to huge media pressure, in August 2023, Andy Burnham commissioned an independent inquiry into the experiences of women and girls in GMP custody facilities, focusing on the use of strip searches, intimate searches, and removal and replacement of clothing.5 Dame Vera Baird KC was brought in to lead this inquiry.

The Baird Inquiry has concluded but the publication of its report has been delayed twice. Its findings and recommendations will be published after the election of the GM Mayor takes place on 2nd May. This election is a key opportunity to hold the Mayor to account.

We cannot wait for the Baird Report for accountability and fundamental change. Sign this petition to demand that the GM Mayor commits to taking real action now. 

Sources: 

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/more-150-greater-manchester-police-21819724
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-67542596#:~:text=The%20report%20found%20GMP%20were,and%20search%20powers%20against%20them
https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publications/an-inspection-of-vetting-misconduct-and-misogyny-in-the-police-service/
https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publications/report-on-an-inspection-visit-to-police-custody-suites-in-greater-manchester-2022/
https://news.sky.com/story/use-of-strip-searches-on-women-and-girls-in-greater-manchester-police-custody-under-review-12937774
 

Dear Andy Burnham

We have been corresponding with you for some time, raising our concerns about misogyny, sexual misconduct, domestic abuse and related criminal behaviour within the ranks of Greater Manchester Police. We urge you, during this election period, to make explicit your commitment to the women of Greater Manchester to drive out misogyny, sexism, racism, and all forms of discrimination from Greater Manchester Police if you are to secure a third term as the Mayor of Greater Manchester.

While we welcomed the opportunity last November to meet with your Deputy Mayor, Kate Green, we were dismayed to learn last month that publication of the already delayed Baird Report was to be further delayed until after the GM Mayoral election. This review into the treatment of women in GMP custody facilities was only prompted when TV and other media coverage of local women’s horrific experiences brought these issues into public consciousness. However, an earlier joint HMICFRS and CQC inspection of GMP custody facilities had already identified a number of “significant concerns” especially around the lack of detainee dignity when clothing was removed, and the over-use of ‘anti-rip’ clothing.

We therefore have little doubt the Baird Report will reveal itself as yet another unwelcome piece in the jigsaw of inspections, reviews and reports, which together expose the scale of institutional misogyny in Greater Manchester Police. 

Additionally, the charge of institutional racism levelled at GMP in the 2021 report referenced above has been denied by the Chief Constable, Stephen Watson, despite the report’s evidence to the contrary. 

It is abundantly clear that these issues do not simply stem from the behaviours and attitudes of a few ‘bad apples’ who need to be ‘rooted out and booted out’ as the Chief Constable would have us believe. They are systemic in nature and require an urgent system-wide response.

We therefore implore you to:

●       publicly acknowledge institutional misogyny and racism in Greater Manchester Police – without recognition of the systemic nature of this issue there cannot be successful resolution

●       publish your plan to root out misogyny, racism and other forms of discrimination in Greater Manchester Police within 100 days of your (presumptive) third term of office, providing full transparency of the measures to be taken and the progress made

●       investigate options for delivering genuine scrutiny of your plan by ‘experts of experience’ in collaboration with the women’s sector and other diverse partners across Greater Manchester

●       bring in external expertise to help drive organisational cultural change across Greater Manchester Police

●       commit to a programme of public engagement with all of those who are being most harmed by these failures, to build a model of policing that genuinely serves the people of Greater Manchester 

We urge you to be bold and commit to delivering fundamental ‘root and branch’ change to the prevailing misogynistic and racist culture pervading Greater Manchester Police.