The Ramadhan Foundation welcomes Greater Manchester Police’s attempts to really understand cultural awareness and be aware of the religious backgrounds of all the people in our region.  We often complain about the Police not listening to our concerns and not being aware of our religious beliefs but this news reaffirms the total transformation of the force after the Secret Police programme into a force that is serious about engaging with all sections of our communities.

Public Authorities must be aware of the cultural and religious needs as part of the Race Relations Amendment Act, this was introduced after the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, it sets out in clear terms that public bodies need to promote good relations between different communities – Greater Manchester Police is taking its responsibility under this Act seriously.

The Foundation will shortly be instigating meetings with senior officers in the Force to discuss how we can cement these good relations between them and our communities; we are serious about making the force truly representative of Greater Manchester. This is a challenge we face together and we will certainly play our part in that campaign by making our voice heard in all aspects of this debate.

Mr. Shazad Anwar, Chief Executive of the Foundation comments:

“We welcome Greater Manchester’s commitment to cultural and religious awareness and this is another example of them taking these community issues seriously, we pay tribute to the force for this work and look forward to working with them.  That’s why we will shortly be arranging meetings with senior officers to cement this respectful relationship.

Tackling crime is all our business and there should be no exemption to the rule of law, however this does not mean that the Police should not be aware of the needs of all in the communities, it is a fresh approach that we support and look forward to working together.  Equality in law is absolutely essential and there should be no exception”

END

Notes for editors

The Ramadhan Foundation is the UK's leading Muslim youth organisation that is working for peaceful co-existence and dialogue for all communities.  Based in Greater Manchester and working to also establish the platform for human unity amongst our communities in the UK.

For further information contact:

Mr. Mohammed Shafiq

Press Spokesman

Mohammed.shafiq@ramadhanfoundation.com

07814835912