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Women and girls experience extraordinary levels of violence and abuse. If a lack of trust in the police is the reason they do not seek help or protection then we have utterly failed.
As the lead for violence against women and girls in the Met, I headed up the launch for our action plan last December. In it we were clear that we must build back the trust and confidence of women and girls in the police.
Earning trust of a victim has to be intrinsic throughout an investigation, if we have earnt the confidence of a victim to report the crime, our response must reinforce it, from bringing the offender to justice to working with others to create support so a victim can recover.
If we don’t get this right at any stage, they will be less likely to come forward again.
I take great pride in the fact that the Met is leading nationally for policing on identifying and tackling those who present the most risk to women before they offend again.
The new government has launched its mission to halve violence over the next decade. The scale of the challenge is enormous and requires a whole system response that is beyond policing alone to deliver, but I am ambitious for the challenge of working with others to find the tools, programmes and tactics that will make women and girls safer.
Work is well underway. The new V100 tool, something the new Home Office ministers have praised and expressed an interest in replicating across the UK, takes a scientific approach to identifying the 100 most dangerous offenders against women and girls, using data to measure the seriousness of the offending and the harm they have and continue to cause to Londoners.
It’s been a success since its launch – more than doubling the rate at which the most harmful offenders have been arrested these offences and we have already convicted 45 men since July 2023.
Our officers recently identified two men through the V100 who were sexually exploiting young girls. In a data-led approach, officers tracked the men’s online history evidencing their sexual offending. They received a total of five years in prison and given sexual harm prevention orders.
On top of this, we are building bigger teams, so our hard working and dedicated officers have the time they need for the cases they hold.
The hard work is paying off for victims, we have made good progress in the charge rates for rape, seeing 780 charges in the last 12 months (up 17% from the previous year) but once cases go to charge, we want to see them progress effectively through the courts, ensuring victims receive the service they deserve. Every step of a victim’s journey matters.
No woman or girl should feel unsafe, wherever she is, or be afraid to call us if she does. When we respond we must be effective. Our commitments are all about returning to these basics.
You can learn more about the Met’s commitment to tackling crimes that affect women and girls across London: VAWG action plan: Our 10 commitments | Metropolitan Police.
Take a look at the Met’s VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) action plan.
The industry will once again be gathering at the NEC, Birmingham for The Emergency Services Show, co located with The Emergency Tech Show on 18-19 September, check out the full exhibitor list here.
Join us at the Policing Stage to hear about the Prevent Violence against Women and Girls and Domestic Abuse – the City of London Consortium Initiative. The panel discussion will outline the current issues and initiatives being taken to prevent violence against women and girls and domestic abuse.
Learn about the City of London pilot scheme that started in November 2023 and how you can replicate this model in your areas through a range of opportunities to support potential victims, including a taxi marshalling scheme and a safe haven scheme. More information can be found here.
