Victims' Commissioner calls for review after Levy case
The Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales has called for an independent review of the handling of serial sex offender and double murderer Simon Levy, warning that failures exposed by the case could be repeated.
Levy was sentenced at the Old Bailey on 12 August to a whole-life order for murdering Carmenza Valencia-Trujillo and Sheryl Wilkins. He was also sentenced for the rape and attack of a third woman.
The Metropolitan Police, British Transport Police and Crown Prosecution Service have acknowledged failures in their handling of Levy before the murders.
Victims’ Commissioner Claire Waxman OBE said the case demonstrated how warning signs could be missed despite a dangerous offender coming to the attention of multiple agencies.
She called on the Lord Chancellor to commission an independent multi-agency review to establish what went wrong, identify accountability for the failures and ensure lessons are translated into changes to public protection arrangements.
Waxman also warned that the case should be considered in the context of the Government’s early-release programme, which will result in more offenders being managed in the community.
She said police, probation and other agencies responsible for public protection must have the resources, capacity and information required to identify escalating risks and intervene effectively.
The Commissioner also raised concerns about probation workload pressures and questioned whether the Government’s proposed earned progression model would provide sufficient safeguards where offenders continue to offend while in prison.
She said victims and the public needed confidence that dangerous offenders would be properly managed, warning that systemic weaknesses could have “devastating consequences” if left unaddressed.