‘Police sex allegations should be investigated by other force’, MPs told

Calls for investigations into claims against police officers to have ‘genuine independence’
.
PA Archive
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Allegations of rape and other sex crimes by police should be investigated by an external force to help rebuild women’s confidence, MPs were told on Wednesday as they were warned that trust in policing among victims had plunged to an all-time low.

Zoe Byrne, from Victim Support, told the Commons home affairs select committee that the need for “genuine independence” in investigations had been highlighted by a case involving a woman called Rebecca who was told that her rape allegation against a police officer was not being pursued by a colleague who used the suspect’s nickname.

She said the officer had also told Rebecca that he had worked with the suspect for years when informing her that the case was being dropped.

Ms Byrne said the case was an illustration of why trust among victims, and particularly women and members of minority communities, was at an “all-time low”, creating a “crisis point” which required action to put right.

“At the very least these allegations [of rape by police] need to be investigated by a different police force,” Ms Byrne told the hearing in Parliament today.

“I would argue the independence needs to go beyond that because why is the culture any different in a different force?

“We’ve heard positive words, including from the new Met Commissioner, but there needs to be action. Women in this country need to see action to change that culture.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in