Police have been urged to step up controls after a pedophile officer was jailed for sexually abusing more than 200 children on Snapchat. Lewis Edwards, 24, was found to have manipulated, intimidated, threatened and exploited his victims, some as young as 10, by forcing them to send him indecent videos of themselves naked and abusing themselves as they sobbed and begged for he stopped.

A former South Wales police officer has been jailed for life for 160 counts of child sexual abuse and blackmail. You can read more about the verdict here. Speaking to BBC News Wales, former police inspector Zoe Billingham said the level of vetting of candidates was “clearly very low” and it was “almost unthinkable” that a police officer could commit such a crime.

She said: “He joined 2021 at the height of his offending and there should be ways to investigate someone like that so he never goes near a police uniform. “The standard set for policing police officers is clearly very low.”

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When Lewis Edwards, from Bridgend, was captured he had 4,500 indecent images of children. Zoe Billingham highlighted that even after the coronavirus pandemic, some police officers did not conduct face-to-face interviews. She said: “We need to make sure there are psychometric tests for police officers and there is really good research when we appoint police officers.

“What are their motivations for going to the police, what do they think they need them for, and more? Check social networks, etc. The public has an absolute right to be protected, to ensure that the police are there for the right reasons, and to protect them. “I think a lot more needs to be done to strengthen verification.”

He added that law enforcement needs a culture in which they feel free to expose colleagues suspected of committing crimes. “In the past, I think there was a feeling that the police had closed ranks,” he said.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast, the Welsh Government’s adviser on sexual violence, Yasmin Khan, said: “This case is damning not only for the criminal justice system, but also for the victims and those at risk who, in fact, have very little trust in the police. . “

He called the case “disgusting” and said the focus should be on prevention. Deputy Chief Constable of South Wales Police, Daniel Richards, said there was no place in the police force for officers who abused their duties.