Enact Trew’s law to automatically review ‘bent copper’ convictions, says report
Summary
A new law called Trew’s law is being proposed to automatically review criminal cases where police officers who are later jailed were involved. The law aims to fix past wrongful convictions caused by corrupt officers like DS Derek Ridgewell in England and Wales by starting immediate, independent checks on their cases.Key Facts
- Trew’s law is named after Winston Trew, who was wrongly convicted and spent decades clearing his name.
- The law would require automatic reviews of cases linked to any jailed police officer in England and Wales.
- DS Derek Ridgewell, a corrupt officer, was jailed in 1980 for stealing and was linked to many wrongful convictions.
- Since 2018, 13 convictions related to Ridgewell have been overturned, with a 14th case under review.
- Police forces have been criticized for not reviewing Ridgewell’s past cases sooner.
- Research found at least 64 police officers have been jailed from 2023 to 2026 for crimes like dishonesty and violence.
- There is currently no central system to track jailed officers or review their past police cases.
- The proposed law would notify affected people quickly if their conviction might be unsafe due to the officer’s misconduct.
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