Police force makes 'improvements' in treatment of women - but questions remain after Sky News investigation

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says it has made wide-ranging changes to the attraction of women successful custody, pursuing a Sky News investigation.

This includes ending the usage of constabulary portion searches for "welfare" purposes and ensuring it is simply a "last resort" erstwhile looking for concealed items.

A Sky News probe successful 2023 into the custody practices of GMP led to an enquiry by erstwhile victim's commissioner Dame Vera Baird.

In July 2024, the study found "horror stories" of constabulary making "unlawful" arrests and unnecessary portion searches, sometimes to victims of home unit oregon intersexual assault.

A study contiguous by the Greater Manchester mayor's bureau welcomes the instauration of caller measures including further grooming for constabulary officers dealing with home unit victims.

However, galore victims are unconvinced. One specified is Sophie, not her existent name, telling her communicative for the archetypal time.

She tells Sky News that adjacent aft the Baird Inquiry recovered her apprehension was "unlawful" and the main inspector called her attraction "appalling", the constabulary complaints section subsequently described the apprehension arsenic "acceptable".

Sophie's acquisition was investigated by Dame Vera alongside different women who Sky News spoke to past year.

She was arrested astatine 3am successful the summertime of 2022, and detained for 11 hours pursuing a trivial ailment made by her ex-partner. Her accuser was designated by the constabulary arsenic a highly violent, home maltreatment perpetrator.

Even so, Sophie was arrested astatine her location successful the mediate of the nighttime aft her abuser alleged she had breached his car helping mirror, 14 months previously, and that she had bruised his arms connected an juncture erstwhile helium had strangled her.

'They knew what I was trying to support myself from'

The antheral making the allegation was idiosyncratic who had punched, strangled, pressed his thumbs into Sophie's eyes and locked her up successful the house.

Sophie told Sky News: "He's got a past of home violence; he's got a past of being incarcerated. They knew what I'd gone through, they knew what I was trying to support myself from.

"I was successful interaction regularly with home unit enactment workers who were gathering with constabulary liaison officers. They knew that I had the locks changed. They knew I had an alert connected the location and my phone."

Sophie describes the constabulary apprehension arsenic "an hold of his coercion". She aboriginal refused to judge a constabulary caution and was charged with the offence of damaging a helping reflector earlier a justice threw the lawsuit retired saying it was not successful the nationalist interest.

At a property league successful July this year, Dame Vera said: "I archer you ladies and gentlemen, if idiosyncratic tried to strangle me, I'd astir apt bruise his arms arsenic well."

She said the arresting officers had "locked distant their brains" and criticised the custody sergeant who had logged his justification for the apprehension arsenic "to support a susceptible person", successful notation to the convulsive man.

A bid of 'failures'

At that time, GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson said helium was "appalled" by Sophie's treatment.

He told Sky News: "It's a systemic failure, a enactment failure, a process failure. I bash deliberation successful idiosyncratic circumstances it whitethorn beryllium a nonaccomplishment of experience."

And yet, 1 period aft this, the constabulary complaints section wrote to archer Sophie "there were capable grounds for your arrest". The missive told her: "The work provided by the constabulary was acceptable."

Only aft Sophie revealed that her lawsuit was portion of the Baird Inquiry did the constabulary retract these findings.

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What has Greater Manchester Police learned from the Baird Review?

In a statement, GMP told Sky News: "The result Sophie was provided was incorrect. Having reviewed the handling of the complaint, our caput of nonrecreational standards gave Sophie a idiosyncratic apology and we are ensuring determination is simply a afloat reinvestigation.

"Complaints relating to the Baird reappraisal - including Sophie's - are taxable to a just and thorough examination, without fearfulness oregon favour, by our Professional Standards Directorate.

"Where an probe finds determination to beryllium a lawsuit to answer, we volition guarantee officers look disciplinary proceedings.

"We are moving hard to guarantee that the radical of Greater Manchester - peculiarly women and girls - tin person assurance successful their constabulary force. This includes providing trauma-informed grooming for officers and getting amended outcomes for victims - with 1,500 much home maltreatment survivors present getting justness compared to 3 years ago.

"Our communities tin person assurance that the unit is robust successful maintaining bully bid and discipline. Those not acceptable to service are being removed from GMP with much than 100 officers dismissed connected the Chief Constable's watch."

However, Sky News has been told that astir complaints relating to the Baird Inquiry are taxable to ongoing probe and, truthful far, nary officers person been disciplined oregon dismissed.

In effect to the Baird Inquiry, GMP present has a dedicated pistillate payment serviceman successful its custody suites and is soon to present a caller autarkic oversight sheet to scrutinise arrests.

According to the mayor's office, 24 of the 26 recommendations from the enquiry person been implemented.

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: "This is simply a landmark infinitesimal successful our quest to amended the information and attraction of women crossed Greater Manchester.

"It is wide that determination is inactive advancement to beryllium made. The lawman politician and I volition proceed to clasp up a reflector to unacceptable practices wherever we find them."

Deputy politician Kate Green added: "While the implementation of these recommendations to day is welcome, it is indispensable that the improvements brought astir are maintained and so built upon, and connected behalf of the politician I volition proceed to scrutinise GMP arsenic it makes advancement successful these areas."

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However, Sophie feels fto down and says if she was successful an abusive narration again, she would deliberation doubly astir going to the police.

"I wouldn't conscionable beryllium OK with reporting thing now, I would look astatine the consequences of maine doing that, and what could hap arsenic a effect of maine doing that, and however they would dainty me," she said.

"It's going to instrumentality maine longer to get implicit what happened to maine that nighttime successful being arrested and being locked up than getting implicit being slapped oregon punched."