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Crackdown on sexual offences

The Metropolitan Police have announced plans to use licensing laws to shut down pubs and clubs where high numbers of sexual assaults take place.

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Video: Met's anti-rape strategy

It is being hailed as a radical police strategy to tackle rape. It's being done by the Met's sex crime unit, and it could lead to pubs and clubs being shut down if assaults take place on their premises.

But rape campaigners aren't convinced that it will help women who've lost confidence in the police, because of previous problems at the unit. Here's Ronke Phillips.

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Met statement on sex offences initiative

The Metropolitan Police has published the following statement on its crackdown on sexual offences:

"The Met remains committed to tackling rape and serious sexual offences. Sapphire [Command] investigate thousands of allegations each year and seek to bring as many offenders to justice as possible, and offer support alongside the Havens, to the victims of this crime.

"As part of this commitment, we are also increasing supervision of our officers, running a publicity campaign later in the year to raise awareness of what support is available for victims, continuing to analyse intelligence, and increasing the number of offenders we arrest and working in partnership with the pub and club industry to ensure licensing laws are upheld."

  1. Ronke Phillips, Crime Correspondent

Ronke Phillips offers her analysis on the Met's crackdown on sex offences

It is radical, unprecedented and is bound to be controversial - the use of licensing laws to shut down pubs and clubs which have been associated with higher than average levels of rape and sexual assault.

The strategy is the initiatiave of DCI Mick Duthie, the Met's new head of Sapphire, the unit which deals with sex crimes.

He plans to:

• Use the licensing laws for the first time to shut down pubs and clubs which generate a high level of rape and sexual assault.

• Use covert police tactics to target men who have never been charged and convicted of rape, but where intelligence suggests they are perpetrators.

• Initiate a hard-hitting prevention campaign, to target male behaviour and speak to women about reducing their vulnerability.

• Increase supervision of his officers by restructuring Sapphire into five or six large regional teams.

Women's groups have dismissed the initiative as a "diversion". What's needed, according to campaigners, is thorough unbiased investigations and prosecutions so rapists are caught and convicted, and rape is discouraged.

Police threaten to shut down pubs and clubs in rape crackdown

The Metropolitan Police have announced plans to use licensing laws to shut down pubs and clubs where high numbers of rapes and sexual assaults take place.

The new head of Scotland Yard's sex crime unit, Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Duthie, told the Guardian newspaper:

"If you were in Lewisham High Street at night and someone had a glass or bottle stuck in their neck, we would use the licensing legislation to close that place down. But until now we haven't done that for sexual offences.

"We are looking at areas that generate high levels of sexual offences, identifying nightclubs or pubs where this might happen, and which we can link back to rapes and use the licensing laws against these premises."

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