Met pilots new team to engage with street sex workers

The Metropolitan Police is piloting a new approach in north London, deploying a two-officer female team under Operation Amicus to engage directly with street sex workers. This initiative is designed to build trust and encourage women to report violence and other crimes committed against them. The pilot follows significant criticism of the Met's past handling of cases involving vulnerable women, notably the Simon Levy case.

Failings exposed by Simon Levy case

The Simon Levy case, which resulted in Levy being given a whole-life sentence in August, highlighted serious failings by the Met. Levy sexually assaulted women on London's transport network and elsewhere, targeting vulnerable women involved in street sex work. He was convicted of attacking 13 women. Levy murdered Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo in March 2025 and Sheryl Wilkins five months later. Prior to these murders, Levy had raped a third woman in January 2025. This victim reported the rape to police while being arrested for breaching a community banning order, but the Met did not investigate thoroughly and closed the case. It was only reopened after the murders, which occurred in the same car park location where the initial rape had taken place. The rape survivor stated that police had not listened to her and had spoken to her dismissively.

Both the Met and the Crown Prosecution Service have issued apologies for decisions that allowed Levy to remain at liberty. The case exposed an inherent tension in the Met's approach to street sex workers, who often fear arrest and distrust officers to investigate violence against them. While sex work itself is legal in the UK, activities such as soliciting in public, working together, or running brothels are illegal. Street sex workers are also frequently targeted by police using anti-social behaviour powers.

Operation Amicus aims to change policing

Superintendent Rob Gibbs stated that the new team acknowledges a need to change policing approaches towards sex workers. He explained that the Met needs to move away from criminalising women involved in street sex work. Gibbs noted that women often become trapped in the criminal justice system for minor offences, which can lead to more sex working, and that the current approach needs to be broken. He described women involved in street-based sex work as being at the 'most harsh end of violence against women and girls'.

The two plain-clothed female officers involved in Operation Amicus reported encountering widespread male violence against the women they have met. They identified a cohort of 80 women in the area involved in street-based sex work. The officers stated that nearly every woman they encountered had reported some form of attack, including rape and other assaults. However, many women were too afraid to report these incidents to the police, viewing such attacks as a grim norm.

The officers emphasised that the Met needs to stop criminalising women involved in street sex work, stating it is unfair when they are 'just trying to survive'. They are also aware of local residents' concerns regarding sex work and the need to address organised crime.

Concerns over past police tactics

One woman, identified as Alice for her protection, told the BBC that most homeless women she knows who engage in sex work in Tottenham, north London, have not reported assaults due to fear of arrest. She recounted two separate assaults this year, including one where a man violently attacked her after she refused to sell him sex. Alice expressed fear of contacting the police, even at the hospital, fearing she would be arrested. She found reassurance when the Met's liaison team told her they were there to support, not arrest her.

The English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) has noted a historical pattern where police operations have prioritised prosecuting sex workers over investigating male violence against them. Laura Watson, a caseworker for the ECP, described aggressive police crackdowns in north London, leading to arrests and the use of closure zones and anti-social behaviour orders. These measures, she said, resulted in mass criminalisation when women breached the orders, leading women to describe 'absolute terror from the police'.

Professor Kate Brown from the University of York, whose research focuses on policing interventions with sex workers, stated that creating such teams is not a complete solution. Her research indicates that sex work liaison officers can improve safety and access to justice, but only if designed and implemented correctly. Her research centre is collaborating with 12 police forces to safely implement similar liaison teams.

What happens next

The Met reports that Operation Amicus has already improved safeguarding and increased reports of rape and sexual offences. The force also states that information sharing has improved to identify dangerous perpetrators of violence against women and girls. The pilot scheme's long-term impact and potential expansion remain to be seen.