Flashing offences double in decade but barely one in 10 lead to charge
Flashing offences double in a decade but barely one in 10 leads to a charge, figures show
- More than 1,000 instances of indecent exposure are reported to police monthly
- Eight per cent of cases in 2022-23 led to a charge, Labour party analysis shows
Flashing offences have doubled in a decade – but barely one in ten leads to a charge, official figures show.
More than 1,000 instances of indecent exposure are being reported to police every month.
Yet of the 12,933 cases in 2022-23, only eight per cent led to a charge, analysis by the Labour Party shows. In the previous 12 months the rate was 10.5 per cent.
Police received 6,411 complaints of flashing back in 2013-14 and the number has been rising almost every year since then.
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned perpetrators were repeatedly getting away with it, even though it could lead to even more serious offences.
Earlier this year, Wayne Couzens admitted three counts of indecent exposure that took place before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard in March 2021.
The Met officer pleasured himself in front of a female cyclist in Deal, Kent, in 2020, approaching her on a path while completely naked. He also admitted two counts of exposure at a McDonald’s drive-thru that took place just days before he killed Sarah.
More than 1,000 instances of indecent exposure are being reported to police every month (Stock Image)
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper warned perpetrators were repeatedly getting away with it, even though it could lead to even more serious offences
In another case, the mother of Libby Squire – a Hull student raped and murdered after a night out in February 2019 – believes the man who killed her exposed himself to her just weeks before.
Pawel Relowicz, who dumped the 21-year-old’s body in the River Hull after the attack, had a history of non-contact sex crimes including voyeurism.
Lisa Squire launched a campaign last year to encourage women and girls to report non-contact sexual offences.
Labour has pledged to put rape and specialist serious offence units in every police force and make halving violence against women and girls within a decade a ‘key mission’ in government.
The party is also calling for indecent exposure to be taken more seriously by the criminal justice system.
Ms Cooper said: ‘Indecent exposure and voyeurism are disturbing crimes which just aren’t being taken seriously enough by the police and criminal justice system or the Government.
‘Perpetrators of these threatening and abusive sexual crimes are repeatedly getting away with it even though the impact on victims can be devastating and there are well-documented cases of it leading to even more serious crimes.
‘Under the Conservatives the proportion of crimes solved and prosecuted has plummeted. We need urgent action to intervene early and prosecute more offenders.
‘Labour has pledged to put rape and serious sexual offence units in every police force to ensure victims receive specialist support from the get go.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘Indecent exposure is a serious crime, with offenders facing up to two years in jail.
‘We are going further than ever before to tackle violence against women and girls, including for the first time requiring police forces in England and Wales to treat it as a national threat.
‘We’ve also strengthened the management of sex offenders through our Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act.’
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