Bobbies could be moved off beat to review rape cases, says Met chief
POLICE officers could be moved from front line duties in order to tackle the growing crisis associated with disclosure in rape cases, the Met Commissioner has suggested.
Scotland Yard is currently reviewing 600 sex assault cases amid fears that investigations have been tainted by a failure to fully investigate and disclose digital evidence.
But Cressida Dick has warned that the extra workload this is placing on her officers means she will have to consider moving resources from other areas of policing.
Police and prosecutors have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks following the collapse of several rape trials in which vital evidence contained on mobile phones and other digital devices was either not examined or not shared with the defence.
Last month the Met apologised to Liam Allan, a student who was charged with 12 counts of rape and sexual assault. His trial collapsed after three days when it emerged that a disc containing messages from the complainant, in which she admitted pestering him for sex, had not been shared with defence lawyers.
Ms Dick, speaking on LBC Radio, said the vast amount of material that had to be examined during investigations made the task extremely difficult.
The commissioner said that over the coming months and years she anticipated the force would have to devote considerable time and resources to getting disclosure right. She said: “This is something that’s causing, I know, the public a lot of concern, not just in London, but beyond.”
She added: “It is a very, very complicated system that we’re working in and there are, as you’ve probably read, ever increasing amounts of digital media that the officers have to look at, particularly in cases where the two parties, as in most serious sexual offences – for example domestic violence, child abuse investigations - know each other, so they have to work their way through a mountain of material and this is becoming more and more difficult. So at one level, yes, there is a question about resources.”
Asked if she had the resources to do the job effectively, Ms Dick replied: “You ask any police chief, they always want more resources. You can’t do something for nothing, so I will have to move resource from another area.
Ms Dick said it was “unthinkable” that an innocent person could be found guilty because relevant evidence had not been identified and disclosed.
She said: “What we don’t want are any miscarriages of justice. What we do have is an action plan. We will have to put some more resources into that, and I have to ensure that my officers are feeling well trained and well supported and, where possible, have the best technology that can support them in this work.”