Delayed review into women’s treatment in GMP custody gets publication date

By Ethan Davies

A much-delayed report into how Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has treated women in custody will be published next month, it's been confirmed. 

The Baird Review was triggered by a series of allegations made against the force from multiple women who came forward last summer. They alleged that officers performed unjustified strip searches while in custody.

That led to mayor Andy Burnham and deputy mayor Kate Green commissioning the review, led by Dame Vera Baird — a former police and crime commissioner and national victims' commissioner. It was open to a much wider group of people than three original complainants.

Initially, the report was supposed to be released in autumn 2023, but this was then revised to 'by the end of the mayoral term' in late January. However, 'due diligence' checks took longer than anticipated. 

That meant by mid-February, publication was delayed until after the May 2 election. Now, the mayor has confirmed a publication date has been set, speaking at a Greater Manchester Police, Fire, and Crime panel meeting on Tuesday (May 14).