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A women’s charity has known as for all police officers and workers accused of violence against women and women to be routinely suspended whereas claims are investigated.
Delivering a petition containing greater than 50,000 signatures to 10 Downing Street, the charity Refuge, which helps victims of home abuse, stated it was “deeply shocking” police workers weren’t faraway from work whereas they have been investigated.
The doc was taken to Westminster a yr on from the damning evaluation by Baroness Louise Casey, which discovered the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynistic.
The Home Office stated all officers charged with critical offences which might be being handled by crown courts are already suspended from responsibility.
Under present procedures, there isn’t any obligation for police forces to droop officers or workers being investigated for allegations of violence against women and women.
The charity’s interim chief govt, Abigail Ampofo, stated it was “deeply shocking” that “it is not currently mandatory for police officers and staff to be suspended, pending investigation”.
“In any other profession, suspension would be the norm, as would frequent vetting, so what makes policing any different?” she added.
“As an institution who are supposed to protect the public from harm, the police should be held to the highest of standards and any allegations of abuse against officers should be treated with the utmost seriousness.”
She known as on the federal government to implement reforms throughout all police forces to assist restore women’s belief in policing.
In response, the Home Office introduced that every one officers charged with indictable offences – essentially the most critical crimes that may solely be handled by crown courts – are routinely suspended from responsibility.
However, this doesn’t embody offences similar to indecent publicity, with police chiefs having the facility to determine whether or not to droop officers in these circumstances.
The transfer additionally doesn’t prolong to police workers, and solely applies as soon as felony fees have been introduced.
According to Refuge, a couple of quarter of police officers and workers going through such accusations have been suspended from responsibility final yr whereas the claims have been investigated.
It obtained the information from 26 forces in England and Wales beneath the Freedom of Information Act.
Earlier this month an inquiry by Lady Elish Angiolini discovered that a collection of purple flags have been missed about Wayne Couzens earlier than he went on to homicide Sarah Everard.
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