Met Police sign
(Picture: PA)A senior police officer has called for reform of gender-based violence investigations and admitted women have been “systematically failed” by the criminal justice system.
Standards chief Andy Marsh has called for a new code of practice for the policing of violence against women and girls.
Mr Marsh, who is the chief executive of the College of Policing, said the bond of trust between women and the police “must be mended”.
It comes as police conduct faces increased scrutiny following a major report this month that found that male police officers were watching porn on duty, pestering female colleagues for sex and stopping cars driven by "pretty women".
The report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), commissioned following the murder of Sarah Everard, said there was a culture of "misogyny, sexism and predatory behaviour" in police forces.
It also urged police forces to carry out extra checks on officers’ internet use as part of vetting enquiries, noting that many police officers were allowed to join despite evidence of them using "potentially discriminatory, inflammatory, or extremist" language on the web.
Speaking to The Guardian, Mr Marsh said the report had highlighted failures at the highest level of policing.
"We failed victims, we failed them systematically," he said. "I think everyone in the criminal justice system - which has failed too many victims, too often - needs to take a long, hard look at themselves, and put that system back together again in a way that works much more effectively."
Marsh, who became the longest serving chief officer in England and Wales when he took up the standards role last August, said he wanted to have a new code of practice giving guidance on how to run VAWG investigations and treat victims before the end of 2023. "That’s the firmest approach that we can take to policing standards [and] that’s what I would like to do," he said.
“If you treat officers as professionals and give them the training, knowledge and skills to apply their judgment - they will do a much better job," he added.
