Key facts
- A report proposes "Trew's law" for automatic review of convictions linked to jailed officers.
- The law is named after Winston Trew, who was framed by corrupt officer DS Derek Ridgewell.
- Since 2018, 13 victims of Ridgewell have had their convictions quashed.
- Between 2023 and 2026, at least 64 officers received custodial sentences for serious offences.
- There is no central system to record police officer custodial sentences or case reviews.
- The campaign for Trew's law will launch Thursday night in south London.
A report released by the University of York and the miscarriages of justice charity Appeal has proposed the implementation of "Trew's law" in England and Wales. This proposed legislation would mandate an automatic, independent review of past convictions where a jailed police officer was involved in obtaining the evidence. The law is named after Winston Trew, who spent nearly 50 years fighting to clear his name after being framed by corrupt officer DS Derek Ridgewell.
Since 2018, 13 victims of Ridgewell, including the Oval Four and members of the Stockwell Six, have had their convictions quashed. A 14th case linked to the officer was referred to the court of appeal in February. Winston Trew stated that justice should not depend on luck or prolonged struggles by victims to expose police wrongdoing, and that Trew's law would place responsibility on the state.
In 1980, Ridgewell was jailed for seven years for stealing mailbags, but his past cases were not immediately reviewed. Lucy D’Orsi, chief constable of British Transport Police, described the force's failure to do so as "simply inexcusable" in 2024. Dr Joanna Gilmore from the University of York noted that despite apologies, current law offers little to prevent history from repeating, as decisions to review cases involving officers who facilitated serious offending remain discretionary and opaque.
The researchers found that between 2023 and 2026, at least 64 current or former police officers received custodial sentences for offences including dishonesty, violence, and abuse of position. They also highlighted the absence of a central system to record such sentences or subsequent case reviews. Dr Mattia Pinto emphasized that convictions based on unchecked evidence from corrupt officers continue to ruin innocent lives.
Trew's law would include a triage process to focus on cases where officer integrity was central to the conviction, and would require affected individuals to be notified if a material risk to conviction safety was identified. Matt Foot, co-director of Appeal, stated that the criminal justice system is too slow to correct miscarriages of justice and that Trew's law is needed to ensure immediate investigation of files for imprisoned officers causing harm.