Every force must probe PC violence
EVERY police force in England and Wales will have to review allegations of violence against women and girls that involve serving officers and staff in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder.
Police chiefs face trawling through thousands of complaints against officers in a bid to restore public trust following the 33-year-old’s murder by Met officer Wayne Couzens.
National Police Chiefs Council chairman Martin Hewitt said it would co-ordinate reviews carried out by forces. But it is unlikely to appease women’s campaigners who have accused forces of marking their own homework in past internal misconduct probes.
Mr Hewitt said bosses were doing ‘everything that we can do to ensure that the way we deal with violence against women and girls is as effective and as assertive as it can be’.
He said: ‘We’ve commissioned a review of all of the incidents that relate to violence against women and girls, and issues around indecent exposure... any of those incidents by serving police officers and staff.’ Forces will review whether allegations have been properly investigated and check information is being shared between forces if officers have moved jobs or been arrested in a different area.
Mr Hewitt added: ‘It was a sombre and quite a reflective meeting but also positive, I think, in the sense of the determination of all of the chief constables to do what is necessary to start rebuilding the trust that has been lost as a result of this.’
No timeframe has been set for the checks and it is unclear if the findings will be made public.
The Mail revealed this week almost 2,000 police and community support officers have been accused of sex offences over the past four years. The allegations, mostly against men, include more than 370 of sexual assault, nearly 100 of rape and 18 of child sex offences, according to freedom of information figures. Just 8 per cent of the allegations led to a dismissal.
yesterday Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bas Javid acknowledged a ‘crisis’ of confidence that women have in policing after Miss Everard’s murder. ‘There’s a lot of work to be done to rebuild that trust and give people the confidence to come forward,’ he told radio 4’s Today programme.