Police chiefs ordered a rewrite of a report on discrimination at GMP to remove the conclusion that the force is ‘institutionally racist’.
Former superintendent Martin Harding was asked by chief constable Sir Peter Fahy to look at how his force’s recruitment policy reflects the community it serves. Mr Harding, a founding member of the National Black Police Association, went on to compile a damning 99-page report which called for sweeping changes.
The executive summary stated: “Evidence was uncovered that would suggest that GMP is still an institutionally racist, sexist, homophobic and disablist organisation.”
But when the report was submitted by Mr Harding, he was asked to replace the conclusion with the words: “Barriers still exist for all protected groups under the Equality Act.”
'Sexism, homophobia and discrimination' still a problem for GMP claims new report
Other revisions of the ‘Diversity in Recruitment’ report were also requested before it could be circulated within the force. Where the original said ‘changes are needed’ to remove barriers preventing black or Asian officers joining or progressing through the ranks, the rewrite suggested only ‘hard work and new thinking’.
It is understood Mr Harding reluctantly agreed to revise the report to ensure it would be circulated. Mr Harding declined to comment when approached by the M.E.N.
However, GMP’s Black and Asian Police Association (BAPA) slammed the force for asking Mr Harding to change his report’s conclusions.
Det Con Bailey, of BAPA, said: “This report highlights the lack of progress GMP has made since the Stephen Lawrence enquiry. It’s a sad reflection of where we are with equal opportunities within GMP. Here we are, 16 years later, and instead of solving the problem we are trying to hide the truth not only inside the organisation but also in the communities of Greater Manchester.”
Sir Peter Fahy defended the decision to revise the report, saying he believed the original conclusions were ‘unhelpful’ and ‘wrong’.
He told the M.E.N: “Despite some significant effort in the past to attract diverse communities, we have not attracted the level of interest from local diverse communities that we need; if we had continued using the same approaches to recruitment that we had historically taken then it would have taken us until 2093 to get there which clearly is unacceptable.”
He said a recent intake of PCSOs had included nearly a third of entrants from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Sir Peter said he believed GMP could achieve its aim of a force which matches the racial make-up of the community by 2022.
He said the force was already achieving or delivering 40 of the report’s recommendations and was looking at future developments.
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