A total of 56 north west London Metropolitan Police officers were accused of sexual assault between 2017 and 2023, data showed.
An FOI request showed a significant rise in sexual misconduct allegations against North West Basic Command Unit (BCU) officers throughout the five years, with 21 accusations of misconduct and public complaints coming in 2022-23.
This was over three times higher than reported incidents between 2017 and 2019.
The North West BCU covers the London Boroughs of Barnet, Brent and Harrow.
Solace Women’s Aids’ director of business development, Rebecca Goshawk explained the potential reason for this dramatic rise is likely due to more women coming forward.
She added that this is a result of high-profile incidents, such as the conviction of Met Police officer Wayne Couzens for the murder of Sarah Everard in 2021.
Couzens’ sentencing prompted a woman to come forward who had been sexually assaulted by police officer David Carrick.
This was followed by others coming forward about their experiences with Carrick, who was subsequently jailed for 49 counts of sexual assault.
In light of these cases, the Metropolitan Police faced mounting scrutiny regarding its vetting procedures and internal investigations.
Sir Mark Rowley, who became commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 2022, took steps in an attempt to address these systemic issues and emphasised the need for a comprehensive overhaul of police culture and vetting processes.
Following his appointment, Rowley said: “The culture in the police service has to change.
“We are focused on building a service that people can have confidence in, which means improving leadership, vetting, and ensuring we have the right people in the right role.”
Goshawk stated Solace, who run support services for women, such as the north London rape crisis centre, are still assessing whether Rowley’s efforts have met with success.
She said: “We’re still waiting to see.
“We are still seeing disbelief and retraumatisation when victims are reporting.”
Last September, Harrow police held a series of events in Pinner aimed at engaging the community in discussing women’s safety.
Solace believes the rise in accusations against officers has continued to complicate the force’s efforts to regain public confidence.
Goshawk said: “There are better efforts that could be done.
“Of course, visibility is important, but if women are having poor experiences with officers, they may feel that community outreach isn’t really meant for them.
“We think alone it’s probably not going to make a sufficient difference in trust amongst women.”
Solace maintain independent support for women, a zero tolerance policy towards police misconduct, and public reporting on the outcomes of cases of police sexual assault is what is needed to aid the situation.
Goshawk added that the women coming forward with cases of sexual abuse from police officers are often part of the force themselves.
In March 2023, Baroness Louise Casey’s report into policing found significant issues with how women, both officers and civilians, are treated by the Met Police.
The report concluded female officers face routine sexism and misogyny, and that The Met failed to protect women, whether they were employees or members of the public, from abuse from male officers.
Goshawk said: “We have seen some improvements in individual standards in cases in The Met.”
But she added female officers were often left to choose between reporting an incident, or keeping their job.
The Metropolitan Police were contacted for comment.
Picture credit: Lucinda Dodd
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