A former Manchester police officer has been sentenced to jail time after pursing a relationship with a “vulnerable” woman.
Shamraze Arshad, from Bolton, was sacked from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) back in January of this year, following a trial in July 2023 – where he was found guilty of perverting the course of justice and data misuse as part of the same case.
Police investigations into Arshad’s conduct first began in July 2021, and his sacking from the police service came after a routine audit check by GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate (PSD) found that the 38-year-old – who was a PC based at Longsight, at the time – had been using police systems while off-duty and without a policing purpose.
Subsequent enquiries found he had been making a large volume of contact with a particular number from his work phone, and GMP was able to establish that this number was connected to a woman who Arshad had previously responded to after a 999 call about concern for her welfare in October 2020.
Following this, Arshad was arrested and suspended in July 2021.
ADVERTISEMENT
We’ve praised the ‘courageous’ woman in this case for providing vital evidence over two trials.
DCI Jones: “This is an unforgivable breach of policing standards and it’s right he will never be trusted to wear a police uniform again.”
— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) June 14, 2024
Despite being released on bail with conditions not to contact the woman, Arshad went to her address and told her housemates to pass on a message that she shouldn’t tell the police anything about their relationship, before he was arrested the following day for attempting to pervert the course of justice, and then subsequently later charged.
GMP officers spoke to the woman, who bravely gave an account of the sexual relationship that Arshad pursued with her.
ADVERTISEMENT
Following a retrial at Liverpool Crown Court last Thursday (13 June 2024), Arshad was convicted by a jury of attempting to pervert the course of justice, data misuse, and misconduct in a public office, and was sentenced to four years in prison.
Detective Chief Inspector Dave Jones, of GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate, said Arshad “abused his position as a police officer” and is a “disgrace” to the police service.
A former Manchester police officer who pursued a relationship with a ‘vulnerable’ woman has been jailed / Credit: GMP
“I want to thank the courageous woman in this case for providing us with the evidence that was so important in ensuring that Arshad is rightly held accountable for the full extent of his crimes,” DC Jones commented following the trial and sentencing last week.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He abused his position as a police officer to pursue a sexual relationship with a vulnerable woman who he was supposed to protect in her time of need. This is an unforgivable breach of policing standards and it’s right he will never be trusted to wear a police uniform again.”
DC Jones said Arshad’s jail term is “fully deserved”.
“He is a disgrace to the police service and does not represent the thousands of professional, honest, hard-working police officers across Greater Manchester who continue to protect the public each and every day,” DC Jones continued.
“As soon as we were legally able to, we sacked Arshad and, now that criminal proceedings have been concluded, we will invite the Deputy Mayor to strip him of his police pension.”
Featured Image – GMP
News
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
17th June 2024 
