Revealed: ‘Frightening’ surge in police officers convicted of sexual offences since Sarah Everard’s murder
Police sex crime convictions have risen by more than a third since the murder of Sarah Everard. Independent It can prompt warnings that forces must “wake up to horror” and do more to prevent predators from joining their ranks.
Despite efforts to improve standards and public trust following the 33-year-old’s murder by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021, new figures on all-male police officers convicted of organizing rape, sexual assault and the sexual abuse of a child reveal the scale of offending.
59 police officers have been convicted of sexual offenses since the start of 2022, nine months after Ms Everard’s murder, according to freedom of information figures from 26 of 42 police forces in England and Wales.
That figure, which includes Couzens, is 34 per cent more than the 30 officers convicted between 2018 and 2021, which included Covid lockdowns. Those convicted since 2022 include former Greater Manchester Police officer Dean Dempster, who sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl while responding to a domestic incident, and former West Yorkshire police officer Ben Bottomley, who raped and sexually assaulted a woman before joining the force.
The Home Office admitted the figures were “disgraceful”, while former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird described them as “frightening”.
he said Independent: “Why is it that a woman who is a victim of sexual abuse or domestic abuse, which always has a sexual dimension, has the self-confidence or confidence to call the police when they need help, when they are well aware that they could be putting themselves in the hands of another abusive man?”
Dame Vera, who served as victims commissioner between 2019 and 2022, said the increased number of investigations could indicate more officers were being reported and “rooted out” by colleagues. However, he warned that “it’s scary that they’re there in the first place.”
“The police need to wake up to the horror that the Sarah Everard incident has filled the violence against women and girls (VAWG) movement and realize they cannot make it happen. “As they were told at the inquest, however, they need to do more to have a chance of regaining women’s trust,” he added.
Following Ms Everard’s death, police chiefs vowed to improve standards with a mass sweep of 307,000 police workers, resulting in nine criminal investigations.
The latest statistics, which may include some historic crimes, follow the second part of the damning inquiry into Ms Everard’s death, which found the force had failed to fully implement recommendations for a recruitment review set out 18 months ago, including a requirement for psychological assessments of new recruits and a blanket ban on those with convictions or warnings.
Lady Elish Angiolini, chair of the inquiry, warned that it meant predators like Couzens, who passed scrutiny at the Met despite being reported to Kent Police for allegedly indecently exposing himself, could still be given police work.
he said Independent: “IT [the latest figures] it just raises the alarm that scrutiny can’t be something that happens when you walk in the door.
“I suggest that [vetting is done] irregularly, so that the police know that there is a possibility of this happening at some point in their careers, no more than once, to ensure that the applicants are still the same people and have not become corrupt in a way that could manifest itself in the sexual exploitation of those they are there to support and serve rather than abuse.
The force follows vetting guidelines published by the College of Policing, which in its last update last year stated that officers should be constantly vetted through random checks. And in April, then home secretary Yvette Cooper said the new measures would make it a legal requirement for all serving civil servants to undergo background checks.
Responding to the figures, a Home Office spokesman said: “These figures are disgraceful and these appalling incidents undermine trust and confidence in our police. [Shabana Mahmood] He made it clear that he would do everything he could to ensure women and girls lived free from fear and harm and that the strictest standards in policing were adhered to.
“We have already reformed the police misconduct system, ensuring that forces can sack officers who fail investigations and that those under investigation for offenses such as domestic violence or sexual offenses can be more robustly suspended.”
But MPs, campaigners and charities say more needs to be done.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philip helped create the legislation to squeeze Increased scrutiny of policing ministers under the last Conservative government, including making it easier for police chiefs to sack rogue officers during misconduct hearings.
he said Independent: “These figures are both shocking and unacceptable. The public must be able to trust that police officers will act with courtesy and integrity. There is no place for dangerous predators on our force; we need ongoing review processes to identify and remove officers who pose a risk to women.”
“It is clear that more work needs to be done to ensure full trust and confidence in policing, and as an opposition we will support any measures necessary to do this.”
Labor MP Brent East Dawn Butler, who called for DNA profiles of all Met Police officers to be kept in the police database, said the figures were “shocking but unfortunately not surprising” and called for stricter scrutiny. “Some officers become very bad people, others are born that way and use the police service as a gateway… Ultimately, we need a new social contract between the police and citizens to fully build trust,” he added.
Andrewa Simon, chief executive of the Coalition to End Violence Against Women, said the rise in convictions was “shocking” but also showed greater accountability for abuse.
But he warned: “Angiolini’s latest findings make clear that police forces, and arguably society as a whole, have not made sufficient progress towards dismantling cultures of racism and sexism. The force still has a long way to go to improve the vetting and recruitment of officers and ensure victims and survivors of abuse receive the level of response they deserve.”
Of the 59 officers convicted of sexual offenses since 2022, 22 were from the Met Police, the UK’s largest force. Two of them were at the rank of sergeant or above, and none of them are currently officers.
Couzens used his status as a police officer to make Ms Everard believe he was arresting her for breaking lockdown rules before attacking her. After his death, it emerged that there were concerns about his behavior (he was reportedly nicknamed “the rapist”) and that he, along with fellow officers, was part of a WhatsApp group that shared disturbing racist, homophobic and misogynistic remarks.
Following Couzens’ conviction, he vowed to urgently investigate all allegations of sexual abuse and domestic abuse by police officers, calling Couzens’ crimes “shattering for everyone”.
A Met Police spokesman said: “There is no place in our organization for anyone committing a sexual offense. Each of these officers has been suspended or would be dismissed if they were still in service.”
“The Met now has one of the strongest entry review policies in the UK police force and refusal rates have more than doubled.”
The figures showed that as well as sexual offences, police officers were also convicted for stalking, violence and corruption, with a total of 575 officers convicted since 2018.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council, which represents the force, this year appointed Deputy Commissioner Helen Millichap to lead its work on violence against women and girls. He is also the director of the National VAWG and the Center for Public Protection.
DAC Millichap said a “significant revision” to vetting and misconduct procedures had led to more people being identified and dismissed. This included home visits and mandatory police national database checks as part of the recruitment process. Psychological assessments for recruits will be conducted next year, NPCC said.
