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Who Can You Trust?

Again and again, I ask “Who can you trust”? This is the overriding theme in my crime trilogy THE WARWICK COOPER THRILLERS and that stems from true life experience. Is it any wonder it took me nineteen years and eleven months to receive a crime reference, being turned away time and time again by the police before that happened? Is it any wonder the crime committed against me wasn’t recognised when so many of our police force are out there doing the same atrocious acts themselves?

Former head of the police watchdog, Chief Michael Lockwood (64), stepped down last December for ‘personal and domestic reasons’. He was actually being investigated for rape and indecent assault. The ex-police watchdog director general has now been charged with raping a girl under sixteen and indecent assault.

The position that Lockwood held handles the most serious complaints against police in England and Wales, the BBC reported.

Lockwood is far from alone.

With thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, I made a specific request for data from the Metropolitan Police (please note this isn’t national police statistics-only London’s Met) and the revaluations were with me almost immediately. Four years of shocking behaviour recorded by our Met against serving police officers and staff—what I’d like to know is who turns a blind eye, who is responsible for bystander intervention? Moreover, how many went unreported, and thus undetected, in this timeframe?

Before downloading the document there was a ton of information. The Met told me they employ 40,000 officers and staff (like that dampens down their stats in some way). Not. They did add that some officers would be counted twice due to offences being in differing categories. They also said that tables two (sexual assaults excluding rape) and three (rape) totalled together made up the true quantity of sexual assaults. Make up your mind! If officers hadn’t have committed the offences, then they wouldn’t need counting. Rape is an offence. Sexual Assault is an offence. Sexual harassment is an offence. Stalking is an offence. Indecent exposure is an offence. They all count. Period.

On this page of ‘information’ I was informed that they [the Met] expected “highest standards from its employees”. At no point was trust mentioned. I’m sure all these perpetrators of sex crimes, harassment and stalking are perfectly well equipped at solving crime, simply because they’re pretty good at covering it up. To have been caught, how long have they been carrying out these actions? How many victims are really involved and unwilling to come forward—lost in the depths of despair of their trauma?

Having statistics on this one section of society gives us a small insight into what I’d describe as a pandemic of deviant behaviour. These are people who have pledged to serve the public to protect and yet they feel they are above the law they are representing, and alleged to be upholding.

Let’s take a look at just how many officers we're talking about. I suggest you hold onto your hats because what I’ve already shared is shocking enough. The following is truly sickening and I've extracted it from a spreadsheet entitled ‘Conduct Matters and Public Complaints ‘

Between January 2019 and February 2022 a devastating 73 officers were accused of sexual harassment. Of these 5 have been suspended; 1 dismissed; 61 cases are outstanding; and 65 of those officers are still serving.

Between January 2019 and February 2022 a staggering 239 officers were accused of sexual assault (excluding rape). 13 of these were suspended; only 3 dismissed; 146 cases are outstanding; and 204 of these officers are still serving.

Between January 2019 and February 2022 a shocking 81 officers were accused of rape. 12 were suspended; 1 was dismissed; 71 cases are outstanding; and 73 officers are still serving.

Between January 2019 and February 2022 a sobering 50 officers were accused of stalking. 4 were suspended; 1 was dismissed; 36 cases are outstanding; and 38 officers are still serving.

Between January 2019 and February 2022 a revolting 6 officers were accused of indecent exposure. None were suspended; none were dismissed. No cases are outstanding; and four officers are still serving.

Wayne Couzens in among these statistics for indecent exposure (I assume as the dates fit). He exposed himself at a member of staff at a drive through McDonalds in Kent on 14 and 27th February 2021. There was a botched police investigation by Samantha Lee, as reported by The Guardian (18th May 2023) into this. Couzens went on to abduct Sarah Everard on 3rd March 2021 while she walked home in South London to the Brixton Hill area, by showing her his warrant card. She was handcuffed and placed in his car, driven to Dover where she was raped and strangled. Her body was burned, and her remains were disposed of in a nearby pond. According to news articles, Samantha Lee, a former PC for the Met, has been barred for life after her botched investigation into Couzens' 'flashing' case.

With this in mind how can the Met warrant having 135 outstanding cases over the period that covers these statistics during 2019 and 2020 and 226 during the period 2021 and 2022. This is an outrageous total of 321 outstanding cases. This revelation is shocking given that one flasher kidnapped and murdered—and he was one of their own who had been reported and not handled.

Please see below for the statistical evidence.


by Donna Siggers


the Statistical Evidence

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Hospital Rapes and Sexual Attacks

While traveling through London in a taxi last week [first published April 23rd 2023] I was listening to the radio. Parliament were discussing several issues and hospital rapes and sexual assaults came up. Without actually specifying the case they were alluding to the Jimmy Saville scandal at times. The data that has been released certainly has highlighted that this issue, despite the cover-up at the time and the public uproar since, hospitals are not safe places.

Alarmingly since 2019 there have been 6,500 rape and sex attacks - that includes gang rape and child assaults - in our hospitals during the past three years. These figures have been exposed in a report from the Women's Rights Network (WRN) and include horrific crimes faced by patients, staff, visitors and do include gang rapes. These statistics are based on freedom of information requests to the police forces in England and Wales.


Between January 2019 and October 2022 at least 2,088 rapes and 4,451 sexual assaults were reported. This is a rate of 33 per week. Shockinly one in seven had taken place on hospital wards.
Perhaps more shockingly are the statistics that show the rate of the suspects committing these crimes who faced charges or summons. The startling low rate of just 4.1 per cent of these crimes saw these perprotrators facing justice.

On a personal note, I worked in a forensic mental health unit in the past. This establishment existed solely because the institutions were closed due to the abuse that was embedded in the system - please tell me what has changed? We are living in a society where abuse is seen and not reported by the appropriate people. You cannot tell me that 33 attacks a week go unnoticed. That does not sit comfortably with me - someone must see something that doesn't sit right with them.
If these 33 cases that are reported are from those with the confidence to speak out, what about those who cannot talk about their experience? Those who don't understand what has happened? Those who are too young to know? Those who don't think they will be believed? Those who are too scared to speak up? I could continue!

These 33 cases per week cover the time period that we were in lockdown because of the pandemic. It startles me to consider what the next set of figures will be revealing - or was the fact that children over a certain age were not allowed their parents to accompany them in A&E and were taken advantage of? I guess time will tell if these numbers rise or fall. I personally know of a young child who wasn't allowed their parent in hospital when they had fractured a bone and they had to find their own way around each department (triage, xray, doctors, fracture clinic) on their own.

The report was written by Jo Phoenix who is a Reading University criminology professor. She says the findings showed that NHS trusts were 'failing in their duty to protect both patients and staff'.
WRN, in compiling their data requested freedom of information requests to 43 police forces, eight of which (including those in Scotland and Northern Ireland) were unable to provide the data.
Change is vital.
Donna Siggers
REPUBLISHED TO BRING THIS SUBJECT TO THE FOREFRONT