Trew's Law campaign seeks automatic review after 64 police jailed
A report finds 64 police officers jailed since 2023, but no automatic review of cases they handled; Winston Trew campaigns for Trew's Law.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
More than 60 police officers have been jailed since 2023, but there is still no automatic review of the cases they handled. A new report from York University found that at least 64 current or former officers received immediate custodial sentences for crimes including sexual violence, corruption and serious dishonesty. The report is backing a campaign, known as Trew's Law, which would force an immediate investigation into the past cases of any officer sent to prison.
The campaign is led by Winston Trew, who was framed by a police officer in the 1970s and spent 47 years clearing his name. In 1972, Trew was beaten and wrongfully arrested by Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, an officer later found to have targeted innocent young black men. Ridgewell was convicted of theft in 1980, but Trew's conviction was only quashed in 2019, along with those of the other men known as the Oval Four.
The report says that between 2018 and 2025, 13 people had their convictions quashed after spending a combined 623 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. Trew argues that no one should have to spend a lifetime fighting to clear their name. The proposed law would create an automatic trigger, so that the moment an officer is jailed, all cases they were involved in are reviewed.
The Ministry of Justice has been asked for a response. Police officers have told Channel 4 News they welcome transparency but say further work is needed.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Channel 4 |
|---|---|
| At least 64 current or former police officers have been jailed since 2023. | |
| There is no automatic duty to review cases handled by convicted officers. | |
| Trew's Law would create an automatic trigger for investigating past cases of jailed officers. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The channel centres on Winston Trew's personal ordeal and his 47-year fight for justice, using his story to illustrate the need for Trew's Law. It also reports the York University findings and the lack of an automatic review, with a tone that is sympathetic to the campaign and critical of the current system.
- “In the last three years, at least 64 current or former police officers have been sent straight to prison for offences including serious dishonesty, physical and sexual violence and abuse of position of power, according to a new report.”
- “The Trew's Law report is calling for an automatic trigger that would see an immediate investigation into the past cases of officers convicted and sent to prison.”
- “Why should anyone who's been wrongly convicted spend their lifetime trying to clear their name?”
Broadcast Timeline
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