Centre for Women’s Justice will today submit a super-complaint to The Police Inspectorate highlighting systemic failures women are experiencing when reporting domestic abuse perpetrated by police officers and others employed by the police. Data gathered from 30, out of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, show a total of 666 reports of domestic abuse related incidents and offences perpetrated by officers, PCSOs and other staff during a three-year period.
CWJ has been contacted by 46 women who have felt severely let down by the police service after they reported domestic abuse and sexual offences committed by police officers and staff. Cases such as these are currently investigated by the same police force that employs the accused officer. Evidence gathered suggests that there is a systemic problem around such cases with inadequate investigations, inadequate charging and misconduct decisions, and in some cases accused officers and their colleagues abusing their powers, harassing, punishing and victimising women.
Women who report such cases have very little trust or confidence in the police when they seek help because their abuser is part of the system intended to protect them.
One of the women included in the super-complaint said:
“I felt incredibly let down by the police, I felt that I was being made a victim a second time, I hope something good will come out of the super-complaint to help other women in the future”
Nogah Ofer, solicitor at Centre for Women’s Justice said:
“we are concerned about a “locker-room culture” that trivialises violence against women, where loyalty towards fellow officers and concern about impact on their careers may be getting in the way of justice for women who report abuse”
CWJ calls on the bodies responsible for oversight of the police service to take robust action to improve the experiences and outcomes for women. The charity is seeking a super-complaint investigation into this pattern of failings and has proposed some system changes, such as having all investigations carried out by a neighbouring police force, and greater involvement by the Independent Office of Police Conduct.
The super-complaint system was launched in 2018 to allow designated organisations to raise issues on behalf of the public about harmful patterns or trends in policing. This is the second complaint submitted by CWJ.
The super-complaint, including an executive summary, can be found here (FOI data annex here)