New panel will examine suspects' custody treatment

The panel has been launched in response to recommendations made by Dame Vera Baird

An independent panel has been launched following a damning inquiry which found evidence of people being "humiliated" while in Greater Manchester Police (GMP) custody.

The move is a response to recommendations made by Dame Vera Baird in her report to ensure "more humane and dignified treatment" of suspects post-arrest.

Dame Vera was commissioned to examine GMP by Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

She said she hoped her report would be a "landmark moment for policing" and "serve as a blueprint for the whole country".

The review heard evidence from several complainants, including one woman who said that after she had reported being choked by her partner, she had herself been arrested and subjected to a "demeaning" intimate body search.

Dame Vera said: "This is the first time an independent panel will have wide-ranging powers to scrutinise how the police are conducting arrests, custody, strip search, [handling] domestic abuse [reports] and all of the other issues I raised in my report.

"None of the panel have any connection with the force; they will be able to examine police activity completely independently and throw a searchlight on their actions."

Panellists will include people with professional or lived experience of the police and justice system.

Those who have been arrested, victims' groups and community organisations as well as a district prosecutor and an ex-magistrate will serve on the panel.

'Vital role'

Kate Green, Greater Manchester's deputy mayor for safer and stronger communities, said: "Arrests and detention that are appropriate and maintain dignity are fundamental to the public's trust and confidence in policing.

"That is why we are launching this new panel."

She said it would play a "vital role" in scrutinising GMP's actions.

Det Ch Supt Ryan Davies, GMP's head of custody and criminal justice, said the panel "reinforces our commitment to being held to account for our use of arrests and our performance in custody".

The panel will meet in January 2025 and report to Ms Green and GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson.

About 60,000 suspects are taken into custody every year in Greater Manchester, the force said.