The police officer who led the investigation into the 'black-cab rapist' John Worboys has warned that similar crimes could still be occurring today, as the criminal justice system is 'close to exploding'.
Officer's Warning on Justice System
Tim Grattan-Kane, now retired, was the senior investigating officer who arrested Worboys in 2008 after piecing together accounts from numerous women who reported being drugged and sexually assaulted by a London taxi driver. He stated that the overstretched system is 'close to exploding with a frightening bang'. Grattan-Kane highlighted frustrations among young police officers awaiting decisions from the Crown Prosecution Service, which is underfunded and slow. He also noted a lack of support workers due to financial cuts and difficulties in getting trials because of court closures. According to the Law Society, more than half of courts in England and Wales were closed between 2010 and 2019.
Ongoing Threat and Drink Spiking
Speaking ahead of the ITV drama Believe Me, which focuses on the women whose testimony convicted Worboys, Grattan-Kane said there remains a 'real problem' with men administering drugs to facilitate sexual assault. He cited the Gisèle Pelicot case in France and that of Vikas Nath, a Knightsbridge restaurateur facing trial for allegedly drugging and assaulting a woman. Grattan-Kane noted that drink spiking has become 'far more common', whether due to increased awareness, more men with 'a bad approach to women', or more women reporting incidents.
Lessons from the Worboys Case
In Believe Me, Grattan-Kane's team is credited with solving the case after previous Met police errors. His officers identified links between crimes, reviewed blood tests and CCTV, and consulted a black-cab driver trainee to predict the attacker's routes. Grattan-Kane said they asked victims to come forward, promising they would be 'trusted, listened to, and believed'—hence the drama's title. The response was overwhelming.
Changes in Policing
The Worboys case transformed police handling of rape. Grattan-Kane emphasised starting from a point of belief in victims, but stressed the need for 'continued, constant monitoring'. He urged police to 'think the unthinkable' about people in trusted positions, as Worboys was a black-cab driver who dropped victims home. He cited the murder of Sarah Everard by off-duty officer Wayne Couzens as an example of using profession to gain trust. Despite past mistakes, Grattan-Kane acknowledged that police response is now 'far more centred' on survivors, and noted the Met was under pressure from Tony Blair's target-driven system, which he criticised as measuring performance by numbers rather than quality.
Believe Me airs on ITV on Sunday.
