Michael Lockwood, 64, head of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) until last year has been charged with six counts of indecent assault and three counts of rape against a girl under the age of 16. These are historic offences which are alleged to have taken place between October 1985 and March 1986. Mr Lockwood has denied the charges.
Forced to resign last year upon news of the alleged offences being made public, the allegations, if true, signal the latest incidence in an outbreak of corruption and malfeasance at the highest levels of our government and public institutions.
In February of 2022, Cressida Dick, then head of the Metropolitan Police, was forced to resign in the wake of a scandal in which a serving police officer, Wayne Couzens, kidnapped and murdered 33 year old Sarah Everard.
With more than 90 police staff being found guilty of crimes including sexual offences and violence and more than 150 officers in the Metropolitan Police alone currently being investigated for allegations including sexual misconduct, it is easy to see why trust in our public institutions is currently at an all time low.
Meanwhile, across the country, grooming gangs continue to go uninvestigated according to a recent police whistleblower and former detective, who has alleged that police and authorities are still failing to take the issue of grooming gangs seriously, repeatedly letting victims down.
With police recruitment favouring students straight out of university over candidates with more life experience and an increasing focus on diversity, equity and inclusion over traditional policing methods, it isn’t hard to see why only 6% of burglaries are solved each year in the UK.
Corruption, malfeasance and a general atmosphere of demoralisation is widespread across UK police forces, and with political concerns such as ‘diversity’ given priority, the government and police establishment appear unwilling to address the serious issues within police forces across the country.
If the allegations against Mr Lockwood are proven to be true, this would be a significant blow to public confidence in policing, showing that not only are our police forces not fit for purpose, but the very body designated to investigate them is also rotten to the core.
Until there is a new start, with the current corrupt establishment cleared out, it is unclear how the police will ever restore public confidence, or how the government could ever be seen to be taking these issues seriously.
