Brian Paddick says police must take rape more seriously
Commenting on a joint report published by the inspectorates of police and crown prosecutors into rape investigations, London Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick said:
“This report comes to some of the same conclusions my draft report ‘Review of Rape Investigations in the MPS’ came to in 2005, that too many rape allegations were being written off and that a new ‘victim-centred’ approach was required. The Met rejected the findings of the 2005 review and instead published a report supporting the status quo. This was part of my evidence to Leveson yesterday as an example of the way the Met put its reputation before being open about its failings.
“A major criticism of the report released today is not a lack of systems to identify serial rapists, but a failure of the police to use those systems effectively. The police must take rape more seriously and, as my report in 2005 concluded, provide an approach more focussed on the victim.”