UK police faced 750 sexual assault allegations in the last five years
The police force has faced a total 750 of sexual assault allegations against its officers across the UK, in the last 5 years.
At least 750 accusations were made against officers across 31 police forces between 2016 and 2020, according to PA News agency. It was able to acquire the information through an official request made to Freedom of Information”.
The new data comes at a time where the Met finds itself under fire. The public opinion of the police has taken a hit due to the horrific murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens.
Cases by the hundreds, Sanctions by the tens
As LBC reported, at least 34 resulted in dismissals, although seven others were listed as resulting in resignation or dismissal, and at least six officers would have been dismissed had they not resigned first. However, this information is lacking because some forces have failed to detail the repercussions against offending officers.
The FoI asked forces in England, Wales and Scotland how many complaints of sexual assault were made against serving police officers in each of these years. The data shows that most allegations were against male officers.
The End Violence Against Women Coalition, which includes groups such as Rape Crisis, Refuge and Women’s Aid, said that only a few officers face “any meaningful consequences” for violence against women and girls.
According to LBC, the Independent Office for Police Conduct issued a statement regarding the matter. A spokesman said: “The abuse of police powers for purposes of sexual exploitation… has a serious impact on the public’s confidence in individual officers and the service in general.”
ShortURL ⬇
