Met officers repeatedly breached official rules by writing off rape allegations as “no crime”

A disturbing report has come to light, that Met officers investigating serious sexual assaults, reclassified the cases as "no crime" without seeking authorisation from superiors.

Met chiefs became alarmed at the “unhealthy” number of investigations closed down by officers from one of the force's Sapphire sex crimes units.
A confidential report by Scotland Yard, highlighted flaws in the handling of cases, including delays in giving victims early specialist assistance, inadequate record-keeping and failure to arrange medical examinations.

The report also revealed how officers wrote off cases as “no crime” without seeking superiors' authorisation and criticises the way in which the risk of domestic or honour-based violence against some victims was ignored.

Many of the investigations were also halted without “closing reports” being completed, a further breach of the Met's rules for handling such cases.

Three officers from the Met's Sapphire unit in Southwark could be charged over allegations that they faked evidence to halt a rape inquiries.

All three are also facing internal disciplinary proceedings.

These revelations come in the wake of the discloser by TfL that 134 serious sexual assaults including rapes took place in licensed and unlicensed minicabs last year, a rise of 54% on the previous year. How can we now accept the accuracy of the TfL figures. Reports from the "Havens Rape Crisis Centers" have shown much higher figures. They also state that most rapes go unreported, so the true figure could be even higher.

For years now TfL Cab Enforcement, The Met/City police and Westminster City Council have been guilty of turning a blind eye to sexual predictors who frequently rank, ILLEGALLY, outside most late night venues waiting for suitable victims. They do this to clear the streets of potential trouble makers and to save money on proper policing. In the West End, Cab Enforcement officers can be seen, acting for local councils in league with bailiffs to recover unpaid parking fines from unsuspecting motorists.

PCO Cab Enforcement/ Safer Travel Command or what ever they are calling themselves this week, along with Westminster's Councillors should be hanging their heads in shame. They have place revenue raising, before the safety of the traveling public. Every night lines of licensed Private hire vehicles can be seen parked in Bus Lanes, on Bus stands, on Bus stops and even on Licensed Taxi ranks. Wardens have personally told me they have been informed not to issues PCN's to PHV's committing these contraventions.

I spoke today, to a representative of Westminster customer services who assured me that Wardens should be issuing tickets to private cars and PHV's parked on Licensed Taxi Ranks. This is covered by contravention code 45. However when phoning Westminster Parking services and asking for wardens to attend such contraventions, we have on many occasions been told that they can not and will not enforce. When we have insisted by speaking to supervisors, we are told that they will dispatch wardens, but they very rarely arrive.

This behavior leads to the general public taking it for granted that the lines of touts and predators are acting quite legally. It is also the main reason why the instances of Rape and serious sexual assault, will keep rising.

In a bid to look as if they are acting responsibly, two officers from Cab Enforcement have been removed from their posts. But the top officer responsible for this blind eye policy is still there.