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Women and girls are treated like meat and suffer injustice Strip search exist Police detentionaccording to a damning new report.
Review Greater Manchester Police (GMP)Conducted by the former Victims Commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Vera Baird KCIt was previously reported that three women accused the police of conducting unreasonable strip searches after being arrested.
Ms Vera, who has interviewed more than 15 people who have been arrested and detained by Greater Manchester Police, called for strict limits, proper regulation and comprehensive recording of strip searches. A former Greater Manchester Police detective told independent The comments were “explosive”.
One woman, who wished to remain anonymous, recalled being strip-searched, telling investigators: “The only reason they did it was to degrade me… If I was a man, I don’t think they would have done it. They treated me like a piece of meat.”
Greater Manchester Police has previously denied any wrongdoing by its staff. independent GMP has been contacted for further comment.
“The investigation concluded that many of the arrests were unnecessary or unlawful,” the report states.
Many of those arrested were vulnerable women and we believe this constitutes a very serious abuse of power.
Maggie Oliver
“In cases where the alleged offence is of a lower degree, the balance should be in favour of avoiding the risk of adverse effects on the person arrested and the risk of damage to public confidence as a result of such arrests.”
Recommending action both within the force and nationally, Dame Vera said: “I hope that my investigation and this report will drive the changes that are needed – and sometimes urgently needed – in GMP.
“My goal is to promote a way of police work that will win the trust of the public, especially women.”
Former GMP detective Maggie Oliver described the investigation as “another damning indictment of one of the country’s largest police forces”.
She said: “Dame Vera Baird’s explosive report reveals a shocking disregard for the rights of people who have access to the criminal justice system.
Ms Oliver, who has since set up the Maggie Oliver Foundation, a charity supporting adult survivors of child sexual abuse, said: “A number of those arrested were vulnerable women and we believe this constitutes a very serious abuse of power.”
Documents and data reviewed by the investigation include custody records, detention logs, crime reports, witness statements and CCTV footage.
Dame Vera made recommendations for tackling domestic violence, including better guardianship rights for women, improved risk assessments, more humane and dignified treatment of all detainees, and the introduction of third parties in police custody and arrests.
On the arrests, Dame Vera noted: “It is concerning that in many of the cases in this investigation, when disputes persisted, the police appeared to favour one party and take criminal justice action, particularly arrests, against the other.”
She added that if there was “evidence that there is a wider pattern then perhaps the review panel could help and explore the causes and, if necessary, suggest solutions”.
The report states: “GMP, the NPCC (National Police Chiefs’ Council) and the Home Office should immediately investigate the possibility of using equipment such as airport screening equipment to remove humiliating strip searches from policing as much as possible. GMP could lead this work.”
Nationally, studies could be conducted to see if two levels of strip searches could be introduced, ranging from a thorough search to an intimate search, with appropriate approval.
Dame Vera said GMP should engage in this work and pilot the model proposed in this report to drive forward this “urgent agenda”.
She added: “From now on, in Georgian prisons, if a strip search is to be carried out, the detainee must be asked if they are carrying something that they know they are not allowed to keep, in order to give the detainee the choice of handing over the item.
“From now on, in GMP, detention sergeants must explain to detainees in plain language why a strip search is necessary, setting out (a) the facts and circumstances that necessitate a strip search, and (b) why there is no alternative.”
I hope that my investigation and this report will drive much needed changes in GMP
Dame Vera Baird KC
It violates the Victims Rights Code, which obliges police to provide support to victims of sexual assault and abuse. domestic violenceaccording to Dame Vera, these genes were also found in the cases of Maria and Danica.
Victims of crimes reported by Dannika were not provided with dedicated victim support, were not given a crime reference and officer number, and were not informed of the progress of their cases.
She said: “Maria was treated badly by GMP” and as a victim of domestic violence she should have been connected to the officer handling her case and a local domestic violence charity through the 24-hour national helpline so that the support she needed could be met without having to spend six hours calling the police for help.
Dame Vera said the police response to Maria’s case was “bureaucratic, unhelpful and without a single acknowledgement of the police’s obligations to victims”, and that the powers to conduct strip-search searches were not mentioned in the records of the strip-search detentions.
Additional reporting by the Press Association
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