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Metropolitan Police officers say force needs to stop criminalising sex workers following Simon Levy failings
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Following the case of serial sex offender and murderer Simon Levy, officers within the Metropolitan Police have stated that the force must move away from criminalising women involved in street sex work. Levy was able to murder two vulnerable women and rape another after initial police failings, including dismissing a rape report made by a victim while she was being arrested. In response, the Met is piloting a two-officer female liaison team in north London to improve trust and encourage street sex workers to report crimes. However, advocacy groups and researchers argue that liaison teams alone are insufficient and that full decriminalisation is necessary to ensure safety and justice.
Wichtige Punkte
- Convicted sex offender Simon Levy murdered Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins and raped another woman after a series of police failings.
- A rape survivor attempted to report Levy while being arrested by Met officers for allegedly breaching a community banning order, but police closed the case without properly engaging with her.
- The Met is piloting a new two-officer female team in north London, known as Operation Amicus, to build trust and help street sex workers report crimes.
- Officers running the scheme report endemic levels of male violence against street sex workers, many of whom previously feared arrest and did not trust police.
- Superintendent Rob Gibbs acknowledged that the force needs to change its approach and break the cycle of women getting stuck in the criminal justice system for minor offences.
- The English Collective of Prostitutes and academic researchers argue that police crackdowns have historically criminalised sex workers, and that true safety requires decriminalisation rather than specialised teams alone.