Women failed as quarter convicted of exposure go on to commit further crimes
More than 200 criminals convicted of exposure have gone on to commit further crimes, grim figures show, as ministers face calls to strengthen the law to protect women and girls.
Tories have been accused of failing to tackle sexual crimes, with data also revealing a quarter of those guilty of exposure go on to offend again. Since 2018, Ministry of Justice figures show, there were 219 cases where an offender has gone on to commit serious sex crimes.
The Lib Dems have called for misogyny to be a hate crime, as well as mandatory training for police and prosecutors to understand the trauma victims suffer. Lib Dem women and equalities spokeswoman Christine Jardine said: “Violence and against women and girls must be rooted out of our society - that means making it clear that sexual assault in all its forms is unacceptable and will be punished.
"The current system is disturbingly broken, with high reoffending rates and many cases where those convicted of these crimes go on to cause even more damage. Things cannot go on as they are. Our system is badly failing women, and Conservative ministers must finally commit to change.”
The party pointed out that Sarah Everard's killer, policeman Wayne Couzens, had twice indecently exposed himself before her March 2021 murder. The Met Police apologised in March for not arresting him sooner.
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Couzens, who was a constable in the Met Police, is serving a whole life sentence after admitting kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah, 33.
Solace Women's Aid said it is unusual to go from having committed no crimes before to abducting and murdering someone. It said it was "loud and clear" that there were "missed opportunities" to save Ms Everard's life.
The charity stated: "It is vital that the police take any complaints about sexual misconduct, indecent exposure or abuse seriously and enforce the law quickly. This should be no different when the offender is a police officer."
Figures released to the Lib Dems under the Freedom of Information Act show that 25.5% of those convicted for exposure or indecent exposure have gone on to reoffend. They commit an average of 3.58 further offences per person, the Government data revealed.
Last year 54 people convicted of violent sex crimes had previously committed exposure offences. This was up from 30 in 2021. A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Indecent exposure is a serious crime, with offenders facing up to two years in jail. It is paramount that we tackle violence against women and girls, which is why we are going further than ever before.
“For the first time ever, police forces in England and Wales are required to treat violence against women and girls as a national threat. We are also transforming the way that rape investigations and prosecutions are handled through Operation Soteria.”
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