Women And Girls 'Treated Like Meat' In Police Custody

Women and girls have been treated like meat and subjected to unjustified strip searches in police custody, according to a damning new report.

- MAYA OPPENHEIM

The review into Greater Manchester Police (GMP), carried out by the former victims’ commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Vera Baird KC, follows reports that three women had accused the police force of unjustified strip searches after being arrested.

Dame Vera interviewed more than 15 people who had been arrested and detained by Greater Manchester Police as she called for strip searching to be severely limited, properly regulated and fully recorded. One former GMP detective told The Independent that the contents of the review are “explosive”.

In recalling her strip search, a woman given the name Maria to maintain her anonymity, told the inquiry: “The only reason they did what they did was to degrade me ... If I was a man, I don’t think they would’ve done it. I was treated like a piece of meat.”

The report states: “The inquiry’s conclusion is that many of these arrests were unnecessary or unlawful. In cases at the lower levels of alleged criminality, the balance should favour avoiding both the risk of poor impact on arrestees and the risk to public confidence from such arrests.”

Dame Vera, who recommended action both within the force and nationally, said: “I hope that my inquiry and this report will drive change where it is – sometimes urgently – required in GMP. My aim is strongly to promote a way of working in the police that will justifiably engender trust across the population and particularly among women.”

The Independent has previously reported on one woman’s allegations over her treatment by GMP. The Independent does not know whether these allegations formed part of the inquiry by Dame Vera.