Fury as Sussex Police ask for help to catch rapists by trawling CCTV
Fury as cash-strapped force Sussex Police appeal for volunteers to help them catch rapists by trawling CCTV footage
- Sussex Police are currently advertising for two volunteers to view CCTV
- They will assist catching rapists, child abusers and ‘high-risk’ domestic abusers
- Victims have called the roles an ‘insult’ and say it is a ‘disgrace’ to rely on public
Published: 11:19, 23 April 2023 | Updated: 11:20, 23 April 2023
A police force with a GBP17million hole in its finances has evoked fury after it emerged it is asking the public to volunteer to help catch perpetrators of rape, child abuse and serious domestic violence[2].
Sussex Police is appealing for people to volunteer to trawl through CCTV footage to assist officers with various crimes and missing persons investigations.
It comes amid fierce scrutiny over the effectiveness of policing in the UK and low conviction statistics for sexual offences.
In the description for the roles, the force says the successful applicants will ‘be allocated CCTV to view which involves supporting the investigation of serious sexual offences, child abuse and high-risk domestic violence matters.’
But the recruitment drive has been met with fierce criticism from victims of such crimes, including a woman who was sexually assaulted at the age of 16 by a former Sussex Police detective.
Sussex Police is seeking volunteers to trawl through CCTV footage to assist in the apprehension of dangerous criminals such as rapists and child sexual abusers
The woman was assaulted by disgraced former detective inspector Dominic O’Brien while he was already on bail over another sex offence in 2019.
He had previously been caught sending online messages about wanting to rape an 11-year-old girl – a crime for which he was later given a six-month suspended sentence.
In 2006, O’Brien was suspended from Sussex Police over sexual messages he sent to the 14-year-old daughter of a murder victim whose case he’d been investigating.
He resigned from the force before a disciplinary hearing.
The victim of the 2019 attack believes the reliance on volunteers to catch serious criminals is ‘disgusting’ and ‘an insult’ to survivors and victims.
She told the Mirror: ‘It’s disgusting that Sussex Police is handing over such serious cases to people who haven’t been properly trained for this extremely sensitive work.
‘It’s a disgrace, an insult to the victims and survivors of these crimes. It also opens up the possibility of conviction rates of sex predators to drop further as human error will be more likely in volunteers working a couple of hours a week.
‘The Government should fund this properly.’
Sussex Police are facing a GBP17million funding gap for the 2023/2024 year, it was revealed in December.
The role, being advertised by Sussex Police for John Street Police Station in Brighton and for Littlehampton Police Station will see a volunteer spend around four hours per shift trawling through CCTV – although the exact length of time required will ‘depend on the caseload’.
The force estimates the volunteers will be needed up to four times a month.
As well as assisting in cases of sexual and domestic violence offences, the advert states the successful candidates will also ‘be allocated CCTV to view which involves offences such as assaults, theft, burglaries, criminal damage to property and missing person enquiries.’
They will also undertake some administrative work. Sussex Police said that ‘clear instruction will be given’ as to what information the force requires.
Volunteers will require confidence using technology and ‘good observational skills.
They must ‘be a team player but able to work on your own initiative – as well as ‘fully understand the need for confidentiality and accuracy.’
All applicants will be subject to a National Police Vet Level 2, which will assess their eligibility for the role.
References
- ^ Elizabeth Haigh (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ domestic violence (www.dailymail.co.uk)