Met more than doubles arrests and charges for rape and domestic abuse over last year  

Figures published today show that arrests and charges for rape offences have more than doubled over the last year in London. This reflects a stronger, more coordinated approach to tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG).

The data shows that positive outcomes, including arrests and charges, have surpassed 1,500 for rape – an increase of 116 per cent on last year. This positions the Met as the force with the highest detection and charge rate for rape suspects.

The Met’s approach has victims at its heart, with a focus on early intervention and safeguarding measures. It also uses data-led tactics like the V100 programme to identify and closely manage the most harmful and repeat offenders.

The increases in positive outcomes for rape are echoed across the board, with arrests and charges for domestic violence going up by 82 per cent, violence against women and girls generally by 71 per cent and child sexual exploitation by 116 per cent. 

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: 

“Three years ago, I pledged to make London a safer city for women and girls. We committed to driving improvements, embracing innovation, and applying the same relentless determination we use to combat terrorism to tackle violence against women and girls.  

“These statistics are not just numbers. Every single statistic represents a victim, a vulnerable women or child and a dangerous offender who is now facing the justice they deserve. 

“We built an entirely new system focused on pursuing and prosecuting men who commit violence. This revealed that men who abuse women often commit other serious crimes - drug dealing, extortion, robbery. So we used every legal avenue to bring them down, a strategy known as ‘Achilles heel’ tactics.

This approach puts offenders behind bars quickly and prevents future harm. Often, securing custody is the moment past victims feel safe enough to come forward and share their evidence.

“Our relentless focus to tackle violence against women and girls is starting to work, but I know better than anyone that there is more to do. Our work will not stop until every victim is protected, and every woman in London is free to walk our streets without fear.” 

The Met’s pioneering data-led V100 programme has now resulted in over 200 convictions of the most dangerous men in London, with sentences totalling over 676 years. The programme uses data and intelligence to identify the top 100 individuals who pose the most danger to women and girls. To put offenders behind bars as quickly as possible, we used every legal avenue to bring them down. In deploying new tactics previously only seen in counter terrorism, officers are able to proactively target the most violent and repeat offenders and we have doubled the arrest likelihood for our most dangerous offenders.

Since its launch, V100 has led to 255 arrests linked to more than 2,900 crimes. In April, Met officers arrested 32 V100 nominals. 

The Met has also announced a further new and transformative approach to protecting victims and managing offenders. Operation Sallus marks a major shift in policing practice, using a proactive approach to check that protection orders are being enforced and that victims remain safe.

Protection orders can be sought by police as a method of early intervention. They protect victims of VAWG offences by moving quickly to put restrictions on offenders, without the need for a court process. Officers working on Operation Sallus are guided by an app which collates details about local offenders who are subject to protective orders, information they use to carry out proactive visits to victims to confirm the orders are not being breached.

Operation Sallus originally dealt with the enforcement of Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs) but is now being rolled out further to cover Stalking Protection Orders (SPOs) and Sexual Risk Orders (SROs).    

The Met is also working on early intervention to prevent VAWG offences happening in the first place. Operation Vigilant sees specialist, plain-clothed officers deployed to VAWG hotspots, including around the night-time economy. Officers have been trained to identify predatory behaviours, with the aim to challenge individuals displaying these concerning behaviours and prevent any harm to victims.  

Veronica Oakeshott, Head of External Affairs at Women’s Aid, comments:

“The new data from the Metropolitan police, which shows that arrests and charges in crimes relating to violence against women and girls (VAWG) have risen, is very welcome. These are abhorrent crimes and survivors deserve to see justice being done. Despite this, we know that the number of victims is likely to be significantly higher, as so many choose not to come forward and report the crimes, either because of a lack of trust in the justice system, or because they don’t feel like it is safe for them to do so. We know that across England and Wales only 18.9 per cent of women who had experienced partner abuse in the last 12 months reported the abuse to the police – a figure that is shockingly low.

“Where reports are made and charges brought forward, additional obstacles still remain – court backlogs remain at an all-time high and securing a conviction is a long and arduous process, meaning that actual conviction rates remain low.

“We hope that the new Justice and Home office ministers working to address violence against women and girls will prioritise these issues as they take on their new briefs, and that survivors finally regain trust in a justice system that has failed them for too long.”