Indecent exposure prosecutions fall despite Sarah Everard murder
Thousands of sex offenders accused of indecent exposure are avoiding prosecution despite a crackdown pledge by police after the rape and murder of Sarah Everard.
Police are catching and prosecuting fewer offenders for indecent exposure since Ms Everard was killed, despite a big increase in the number of offences being reported to police by victims, a Telegraph investigation has found.
The proportion of indecent exposure offences resulting in a charge has halved since 2014/15 from one in five to just one in 10 (10.2 per cent) despite the number of reported crimes increasing by 160 per cent from 6,000 to 16,000 in the same period.
A Government-commissioned report found Wayne Couzens, the serving Metropolitan Police officer who murdered Ms Everard, could have been stopped before her death in 2021 if police had carried out a 'more thorough and committed' investigation into reports of his alleged indecent exposure.
But since Ms Everard's murder, which shocked the nation and led to Government and police chiefs pledging to do more to protect women and girls from violence, the charge rate has fallen from 12 per cent. In the same period, the number of offences reported has increased by 40 per cent from 11,400 to 16,000.
Ministers, police, judges and women's groups all acknowledge that indecent exposure is a precursor crime that can escalate into more serious 'contact' sexual offences including rape if action is not taken.
Couzens, now 52 and serving a whole-life term in prison, was reported eight times to police for indecent exposure before he raped and killed Ms Everard. But 'lamentable and repeated failures' to act on the allegations meant he escaped prosecution until after he was jailed for life for her murder, the official report into the scandal found.
The Telegraph investigation has found that even when offenders are prosecuted, official data show perpetrators of indecent exposure are getting more lenient sentences.
The proportion of offenders convicted of indecent exposure who are jailed for more than six months has fallen from 60.9 per cent in 2019 to 39 per cent in 2024, the Telegraph analysis shows.
Jess Phillips, the safeguarding minister, admitted too many victims were being let down and pledged a 'fundamental review' of how police respond to indecent exposure and voyeurism, which is also seen as a precursor offence.
She said: ' Violence against women and girls is a national emergency, and I know the devastating impact exposure and voyeurism can have on victims, who are too often being let down.
'We are working with the police to fundamentally review the way they respond to these offences and have supported the development of new training for officers. As part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, we will be setting out a new strategy in the summer to keep more women safe.'
Kieran Mullan, the shadow justice minister, who set up a group with the parents of Ms Everard to campaign for tougher sentencing, said: 'These offences can be deeply traumatic and we also know more and more about how they can be a first step to the most serious crimes.
'That's why prosecuting people is so important, so they are on the radar of the criminal justice system. The Government needs to rapidly understand why this isn't happening to such a concerning extent.'
Responding to the Telegraph findings, police chiefs admitted they had to improve their response to the crime. Asst Chief Const Tom Harding, the director of operational standards at the College of Policing, said sexual exposure was a 'serious and distressing crime that can have a profound impact on victims'.
He said: 'While we are seeing increased reporting of these offences, reflecting growing public awareness and confidence in coming forward, we recognise the need to improve the quality and consistency of investigations and outcomes.'
Mr Harding said the College of Policing has launched national training for police on 'non-contact' sexual offences, as recommended in an official report by Lady Elish Angiolini. So far, 40,000 officers have completed it.
He said: 'We are committed to ensuring that all victims of non-contact sexual offences are supported and offenders are brought to justice. This work is part of a broader effort across policing to tackle violence against women and girls and rebuild public trust and confidence.'
The Telegraph analysis shows that police do not proceed with indecent exposure investigations in 46 per cent of cases because they claim there are 'evidential difficulties', often because the victim does not support a prosecution.
This can be driven by victims' anxieties over appearing in court where they have to confront their perpetrator and relive the experience, as well as humiliation associated with the crime.
However, Zoe Billingham, a former HM inspector of police, said this was no excuse for police not to proceed with an evidence-led prosecution without the support of the victim by using CCTV, phone data and other witnesses to place and identify the perpetrator at the scene of the crime.
She said: 'That's been the traditional excuse for not pursuing a whole range of crimes, not least domestic abuse, but if there is other evidence – CCTV, other witness evidence, they can do an evidence-led prosecution that doesn't require the victims to provide evidence or make a statement.
'Only 10 per cent resulting in a charge when people have taken the time and trouble to report these crimes is really poor and indicative of the culture change that is needed in ensuring that all frontline officers recognise the importance of these crimes.'
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