Who is Adam Provan? The scandal that rocked UK policing
Cops Gone BadThe new series of Cops Gone Bad with Will Mellor delves into the ultimate betrayal of trust: when serving police officers abandon their duty and commit horrific crimes. Series two starts Monday, 17th February on Crime+Investigation.
The Adam Provan case sent shockwaves throughout the UK policing system. The former Met Police officer at Newham and Barking and Dagenham was convicted of six counts of rape between 2003 and 2005.
Provan’s case is a harrowing reminder of the potential for abuse of power within the police system. The ex-police officer abandoned his duty to commit the attacks, but could more have been done to catch him sooner?
In this article, Crime+Investigation examines the chilling case of Adam Provan and the scandal that rocked UK policing.
Life before conviction
Suffolk born Adam Provan started his police training for the Metropolitan Police Service in February 2003 after being successfully vetted. He had a promising career ahead of him.
Commendations and a steady rise through the ranks marked his early career. He was seen as a dependable officer, always willing to go the extra mile.
He was known for his dedication to the force, but a darker side lurked beneath the surface.
Signs of troubling behaviour
Only three months after joining the force, a 15-year-old, 'Girl 1', alleged sexual touching by him. Provan was interviewed under caution.
Although the Crown Prosecution Service took no further action, colleagues and superiors later revealed signs of troubling behaviour that had gone unaddressed for years.
Some members of the public who knew him as a young man said he had shown sexual and violent tendencies. They questioned the ex-policeman's suitability to be an officer and raised their concerns to the police. He was then referred to occupational health.
However, in 2005, Provan’s reign of abuse continued. A female officer alleged to superiors that he was harassing her. A crime report was established, but the case was not pursued any further.
Provan was instructed not to contact the complainant and given a warning. That same month, Provan got a warning for leaving the station office unattended.
In late 2005, his phone number was linked to several nuisance calls a female officer received. The Met dealt with this matter internally.
Over the next few years, the misconduct and abuse worsened.
A painful ordeal
One of the most notable victims is Lauren Taylor, who met Provan on a blind date when she was just 16. He approached Lauren and told her he was 22 at the time – when in actual fact he was twice her age.
Promising a date to the cinema, he told her that he wanted to take a walk in a park in Romford first. This is the instance he took her into a woodland and raped her twice.
Lauren described her ordeal to sources: 'I was just frozen with fear, I think...That's how I managed to get through the whole trauma and get home safely - was just to pretend I wasn't there; pretend it wasn't me. It wasn't happening to me.'
Shockingly, after the horrendous crime, the former officer took Lauren to McDonald's for a milkshake, acting like nothing had happened. He later raped her again for the second time.
Lauren said of the attack: 'Basically, he raped me. I remember holding on to the tree. I was kind of hugging the tree like emotional support, pretending I was anywhere else in the world but back there. I remember it can’t have been long, but it felt like a long time.'
The victim did not initially report the crime to the police until six years later when she felt able to recount the incident. Provan’s first trial for the rape of Lauren Taylor ended in a hung jury in 2017.
Finally found guilty
It wasn’t until 2018 that Adam Provan was found guilty of rape and jailed for nine years. He was dismissed from the Met and barred from the policing in March 2019.
Since his arrest, more women have come forward and made formal allegations of rape. One was a former officer who reported the incident in 2005, but her claim was not taken seriously. Another woman stated that Provan sexually assaulted her when she was just 17.
In August 2023, he was jailed for 16 years for raping a female officer six times and a 16-year-old girl twice in 2010. He will serve another eight years on an extended licence.
One of their own
Adam Provan’s sentencing sent a strong message about accountability within the police force. The conviction was a relief to his victims and a vindication of their courage in coming forward.
However, the lack of accountability from the police force was never far from people’s minds.
Could these awful crimes have been prevented?
Judge Lucas said of the police: 'The force should be ashamed that their response to the female officer’s complaint had been “abysmal and shocking” and that they had been more interested in “looking out for one of their own.'
The Provan scandal sparked a national conversation about the need for reform and greater oversight within law enforcement.
Love true crime? Stay in the know with the Crime+Investigation newsletter! Get exclusive access to new articles, episodes, clips, competitions, and more—delivered weekly and completely free. Don’t miss out – sign up today!
