This week, Wayne Couzens was given a 19-month prison sentence for three counts of indecent exposure, the last of which was committed just four days before he abducted, raped, and murdered Sarah Everard. This has sparked renewed interest in indecent exposure as a crime and how police investigate it.
2017 victim of indecent exposure Zoe Beaty waived her anonymity to discuss the incident. After being approached by a man who was exposing himself outside Lewisham station in south London, she called the Met Police at 101. Zoe claims that a police officer who visited her the next day disregarded her report. “His attitude really shocked me,” she says. “He immediately responded, “You know, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that bad, is it? The situation could have been worse. And I thought, “Yeah, I suppose that’s the point.”” The officer appeared reluctant to conduct additional checks, telling Zoe, “There is no way we can locate this man.”
However, a day after giving her statement, a detective visited Zoe at her workplace. In May 2017, Aaron Black was found guilty of eight counts of outraging public decency, six counts of exposure, and one count of sexual assault. The police had correctly identified him as Aaron Black. He served two and a half years in prison.
The investigation of reports of indecent exposure has been questioned in light of this case. According to figures from the Home Office, 10,163 reports of indecent exposure were made to police in the year leading up to March 2021. However, the ONS crime survey for 2020 indicates that many more women experience indecent exposure but choose not to file a police report.
The Metropolitan Police have urged anyone who has witnessed this conduct to report it. In addition, they told BBC News that their officers are “continuing to improve how we handle exposure reports” and that all such crimes will now be investigated by specialists. They further stated: “We’ve increased our capacity to identify related crimes… This is a crucial issue, and we are committed to combating violence against women and girls.”
However, Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), told BBC News that the police do not take “lower level sexual violence offences such as indecent exposure seriously enough.” She suggested that if Couzens’ prior crimes against women had been properly investigated and he had been held accountable, he would not have been able to abuse his position as a police officer in his crimes against Sarah Everard.
Zoe Beaty, who has discussed her personal experience with indecent exposure, stated: “They desire our humiliation. They want us to feel diminished and helpless.” She added that she wished in the future the police would take these crimes more seriously.
This week, Wayne Couzens was given a 19-month prison sentence for three counts of indecent exposure, bringing renewed attention to how police investigate reports of this crime. Zoe Beaty, who herself experienced a similar incident in 2017, has spoken out about her humiliation. The Met Police has stated that they are continuing to improve their response to reports of exposure and have urged anyone who has witnessed this behaviour to file a report. However, Andrea Simon of the End Violence Against Women Coalition has suggested that this may not be sufficient and that the police should take these so-called lesser-level sexual violence offences more seriously.
