Britain’s ‘misogynistic’ police forces are facing a crisis of confidence as more than half of young women do not trust them with their safety, shocking figures reveal.
Research by YouGov on behalf of domestic abuse charity Refuge has revealed more than half of women under 25 do not trust the police to tackle violence against women and girls – compared to less than a third of over 65-year-olds.
In a survey of more than 1,000 women living in England and Wales, a quarter of respondents from all age groups reported their confidence in police to tackle the issue dropped in the last 12 months, while more than half said forces have done ‘little to nothing’ to restore it.
The research comes amid heightened scrutiny of police forces following high-profile crimes by active officers, including the murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens and the dozens of offences committed by serial rapist David Carrick.
‘Lip service doesn’t save lives,’ Refuge’s interim CEO, Ellen Miller, told MailOnline. ‘There can be no doubt about the scale of the problem and that there is an endemic failure to take it seriously.’
Yet just 24 percent of officers accused of violence against women and girls are suspended from duty – and this falls to just 12 percent for the Met Police, where both Couzens and Carrick were employed.
Refuge is calling for all officers accused of crimes involving violence against women and girls to be immediately suspended. Currently, many police forces instead put officers on restricted duties while an investigation takes place.
‘There is a level of misogyny and disregard for what happens to women at the very heart of this issue,’ Ms Miller said.
‘When I see accused officers continuing with their jobs, what I hear is don’t worry, just keep a low profile for a bit and it will be fine.
‘We see with forces where alleged perpetrators of domestic abuse aren’t getting suspended, or perpetrators aren’t getting sacked, abusers are justifying to the people they are abusing that there is nothing they can do because “I’m a police officer”.
‘The facts are just so stark. Where is the action? The government has a duty to make sure that police forces are accountable. It shouldn’t be down to women’s charities like Refuge.’
Around 60 percent of respondents to polling conducted by YouGov of more than 1,000 women living in England and Wales said they would trust police officers more if all forces immediately suspended accused employees.
Refuge is calling for more transparency in the way that police forces deal with officers suspected of criminal offences, in order to restore women’s trust in them.
Ms Miller said: ‘Every woman should know they are not alone and [if experiencing domestic abuse] they must get themselves safe.
‘They must expect and demand a proper response from police. The police are the law enforcers and we deserve better.’
She praised the actions of forces across the UK that are already taking steps to enforce suspensions of all officers accused of violence against women, but added that there must be ‘more consistency’.
The data suggests police forces have had little success in convincing women that they are determined to get rid of violent officers from their ranks.
It follows a crisis of confidence in police officers following the conviction of several PCs for harrowing and violent offences.
In March 2021, 33-year-old marketing executive Sarah Everard was abducted, raped and murdered by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, who used his real police warrant and handcuffs to convince her she was under arrest for a suspected breach of lockdown restrictions.
The force was heavily criticised for ‘heavy-handed’ policing of a vigil in Sarah’s memory shortly afterwards, and last year issued apologies to two of those arrested at the event.
Couzens was eventually handed a whole life order, meaning he will never leave prison.
In 2023 another Met Police officer, David Carrick, became one of the UK’s worst ever sex offenders after pleading guilty to 85 separate rapes and serious sexual assaults over two decades, for which he was jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years. He has since been accused of further attacks.
A review of all police officers triggered after the murder of Sarah Everard recently unearthed 461 cases which were deemed serious enough for a senior officer to investigated. Of these, 97 required no further action while nine triggered a criminal investigation.
Another 88 triggered disciplinary action and 139 officers are to have their vetting reexamined.
The review did not take into account incidents involving officers who are already under investigation or otherwise known about.
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Elizabeth Haigh
