Met needs to move away from criminalising sex workers, officers say after Levy failings
Following the failings in the Simon Levy case, London police officers are calling for an end to the criminalization of street sex workers. The Metropolitan Police have launched a pilot program, Operation Amicus, to build trust with sex workers and improve reporting of violent crimes against them.
Why it matters
This highlights a shift in policing strategy toward prioritizing the safety of vulnerable populations over the enforcement of laws against sex work.
Image source, Getty Images By Daniel De Simone , Investigations correspondent and Amy Johnston , Reporting from London Published 9 minutes ago The Met need to move away from criminalising women involved in street sex work in the wake of the Simon Levy case, officers have told the BBC.
Levy, a convicted sex offender, was left to kill two women and rape another - all of whom were vulnerable and sometimes engaged in street sex work - due to a series of failings, including by the force.
Now the Met is piloting a new two-officer female team in north London to engage with street sex workers, in a bid to improve trust and encourage them to report crimes committed against them.
The Levy case exposed grave failings in policing and also the inherent tension in its approach to street sex workers.
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