Met arrest over 100 people as part of scheme to tackle violence against women and girls

More than 100 suspects have been arrested in a Metropolitan Police operation against the abuse of women, the force has claimed.

The V100 initiative has seen 126 people charged with 574 offences against women and girls, including rape, grievous bodily harm and attempted murder.

The operation uses a scoring system which calculates the severity of alleged offences by assigning points based on potential prison sentences.

A suspect accused of a crime carrying a 30-day jail term would be scored a corresponding number of points.

Those who rank in the top 100 each month are then specifically targeted by police.

The Met says the method has doubled the likelihood of arrest for those deemed to pose the highest risk.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard on Thursday, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ben Russell, who leads the initiative, said: "We look at all reports of violence against women and girls in a 365 day period.

"Where an individual has been accused of more than one crime in that period - we score based on the severity of that offence.

"If you've been accused of a pretty serious crime, that gets you a higher score.

"If you are in the top 100 every month you go into our process and we take as much action as we can."

Since the scheme began officers have arrested 155 suspects linked to 1,246 offences, including 42 for rape, 18 for GBH, and 17 for non-fatal strangulation.

Among those jailed is Adam Baillie, 39, who was sentenced to life in prison for the kidnap and sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl in Harrow last April, the force said.

He must serve at least 10 years before being considered for parole.

Another, Louis Collins, 30, received a life sentence with a minimum of 11 years and five months after launching a four-day spree in which he attacked eight women across London.

According to the Met, his crimes included raping a woman at knifepoint in a park and attempting to rape another after following her home.

The proportion of rape and serious sexual offence cases resulting in charges has climbed from 3.9% in 2022 to just over 9%, the Met claim.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips, said: "Every woman has a fundamental right to feel safe.

"A hundred offenders convicted by the Met Police means 100 more dangerous men off our streets, a powerful achievement for the Met's V100 initiative.

"Delivering a consistent national approach in the use of these data-driven tools to identify and pursue the most dangerous perpetrators is a core part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade."

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan welcomed the Met's results but warned more must be done.

"I am really encouraged by this progress, but we know there is still work to do," he said.

"I remain committed to doing everything I can to support the Met's action, investing in vital services that support victims and important intervention work that stops perpetrators from re-offending."

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