In the week that Baroness Louise Casey's damning report into the Metropolitan Police was published - campaigners have expressed concerns about Greater Manchester Police's own track record when it comes to their treatment of women and girls
They are the figures that raise questions about Greater Manchester Police's treatment of women and girls.
And senior officers have admitted that some of the elements identified in the Casey report, regarding the treatment of women and girls, will apply to GMP too. Sophie Halle-Richards reports.Last year the force paid out damages to two women over botched sexual assault and rape probes. In her review of the Metropolitan Police, Baroness Casey pointed out that rape teams at the Met were overworked, but that armed officers 'got any toys they wanted.'
Some critics say the disbandment of GMP's specialist rape investigation units in 2017, which saw specialist detectives moved into local teams, is partly responsible for poor outcomes of rape victims in the city. Experts the M.E.N has spoken to say that rape victims and survivors in Greater Manchester are being "failed" by the criminal justice system.
"We are trying to build bridges with GMP and I have to say since Stephen Watson became the chief constable there is a better relationship than before. But there is still a long way to go." Anne Stebbings, chief executive of Greater Manchester Rape Crisis, said: "When GMP Greater Manchester Rape Crisis closed we predicted that this would be the result but our concerns were dismissed. We cannot see how these figures show anything but a failure of victims and survivors."
"I think if you have properly qualified officers and properly trained CID departments, whether they are in a specialised unit or not, you would get effective results. Putting the wrong people into a specialised unit won't resolve the problem," she said. "Our detectives who are taking on rape and sexual offence cases will have the right technical skills such as interviewing, both for victims and offenders, and making sure we have individuals who know how to compassionately do medical procedures.
The police watchdog later revealed that a senior officer in the force was among those being investigated. The national body confirmed that the conduct referral was in relation to allegations of sexual harassment. "I am very conscious that women and girls need more than just oral assurances from myself or the chief constable," she added. "They need to see more than just how they deal with individual cases, they need to see a whole system approach that is about keeping women and girls safe and the priority that GMP give to that endeavour."
"To say there aren't individual problems would be utterly naïve. But do we have a culture of racism, homophobia and misogyny? I am quite confident in saying no there isn't that culture. In the first few months of 2023, the M.E.N has reported on the cases of three police officers who were dismissed from the force after being found to have breached professional standards behaviour.
Chief Constable Stephen Watson previously said there had been some 'resourcing issues' within the vetting unit, but Supt Allen assured that the team are working 'full pelt' - with more roles being recruited. During the six months to March last year, the National Police Chiefs' Council found 1,539 officers in England and Wales had been implicated in alleged police-perpetrated violence against women and girls.
Married police dog handler, Ernesto Ceraldi, was also jailed after violently attacking and trying to rape a woman he had met in a pub. He left the woman, who said she thought she was going to die, bloodied and bruised after repeatedly throttling and punching her. "Many of the recommendations made in the Casey report need to be implemented by all forces across the country including GMP."
"In the figures presented nationally, GMP dealt with 72 per cent of allegations by engaging with the complainant and we determined police did nothing wrong. In four per cent of those cases, the service we provided was not correct, and in seven per cent we were unable to determine. That isn't no further action."
"What I can say to the community of Greater Manchester is that what you see in the Casey report does not represent the whole of policing. It represents a small fraction of policing which we are routing out. The National Male Survivors Helpline, Safeline, can be contacted on 0808 800 5005 or through the website here.The charity provides therapeutic support and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors . They offer assistance throughout the criminal justice system, from initial reports to court and beyond.Boys and Men in Greater Manchester affected by sexual abuse, regardless of when it happened, can access Survivors Manchester by calling 0161 236 2182 or emailing: [email protected].
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