For British law enforcement, scandals follow one another. The former British police chief has been charged with raping and sexually assaulting a minor, prosecutors said on Friday. Michael Lockwood, 64, announced his resignation as chief of the IOPC (Independent Office for Police Conduct), the British police force, in December. In the context of the crisis of confidence in the British police, the government then explained that it was an investigation based on old facts.
He was formally charged on Friday with three counts of rape and six counts of sexually assaulting a child under the age of 16, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. The acts are said to have taken place between October 1985 and March 1986. “After carefully reviewing all of the evidence presented to us by the police, we have approved the charges against Michael Lockwood,” said Rosemary Ainslie, a CPS officer.
Succession of criminal cases
A spokesman for the IOPC said Friday it was “aware of the prosecutors’ decision to indict Michael Lockwood on allegations related to non-recent events.” “Since the criminal proceedings are still ongoing, we cannot comment further. It is scheduled for release in Hull (North East) on June 28th. He denies the allegations against him. The British police have recently been rocked by several scandals in which officers have been accused of racist, homophobic and misogynist and even criminal behaviour.
In February, David Carrick, a 48-year-old police officer, was sentenced to life in prison for dozens of rapes and sexual assaults against 12 women whom he terrorized by promoting his features. Before him, the rape and murder of a young woman, Sarah Everard, by police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021 sent shockwaves across the country. Previous reports commissioned after his cases have already highlighted the need for system reform across services, including London’s Met Police, the country’s largest police force with more than 43,000 officers and staff.