Justice Department, police spar on Twitter over pressure on rape victims to hand over medical records | Metropolitan police

The Justice Department has retracted a tweet that appeared to accuse police of going “fishing” by forcing rape victims to hand over notes about the therapy they received after the assault.

Deputy Commissioner of St Metropolitan policeLynne Owens, attacked a tweet trumpeting the government’s changes to the law.

The deputy commissioner was angered by the government’s public blaming of the police, which she believes may have deterred victims from coming forward, and the Department of Justice deleted its own tweet hours after Owens’ criticism.

Owens wrote: “The way this tweet is written is inaccurate and offensive, minimizing the efforts of most police officers to support victims and meet the expectations of other parts of the justice system. Changes were necessary, but such a position undermines public trust.”

Owens later said the tweet “facilitates policy change.”

In response to another message, the deputy commissioner wrote: “I am not underestimating the role we have to play, but the impact this can have on a victim’s confidence … can be significant.”

For years, victims have faced demands to hand over highly sensitive personal information, such as therapy notes and medical records, if they want to have any chance of bringing the perpetrator to justice.

Earlier this week, the Justice Department announced it was changing the law to make such requests only when “absolutely necessary.”

The deleted tweet was a more concise and social media-friendly version of the press release.

The press release stated, “Thanks to the new legislation, rape victims will no longer face unnecessary and intrusive requests from the police to access their medical records or other personal records….

“For the first time, an amendment to the Government’s Victims and Prisoners Bill will make it clear in law that the police must only request material that is absolutely necessary and proportionate to ensure that vulnerable victims are not delayed in seeking vital support.

“This will stop expansive fishing expeditions for information that is often irrelevant to the investigation and is used to undermine the victim’s credibility.”

Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Justice Minister Alex Chalk supported the statement.

Leading experts on how the justice system treats women victims of the most serious crimes say it’s all the fault of the police and prosecutors, and more that the government is only “pretending” to change the law.

Noga Ofer, from the Center for Women’s Justice, said: “There is quite a bit of finger-pointing between the police and the CPS and each could be to blame in different cases. We saw both.’

The center compiled a case file two years ago, prompting police and CPS to vow to make changes, but improvements have been patchy, Offer said. She added that the government’s statement simply restated what was already the law under the Data Protection Act.

“They are pretending to change the law. There is nothing new. This is what we already got, it’s just not enforced. It’s a spin, it’s not a big change,” she said.

It is believed that only a small proportion of women who have been assaulted ever report their ordeal to the police, with the number of convictions falling in recent years.

Earlier this year, a report by Louise Casey for the Met said that the UK’s biggest strength was women and rape victims. an institutional misogynist.