URGENT change is still needed three years on from Sarah Everard’s murder for Britain’s women to be safe, experts have said.
Met Police cop Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Everard in March 2021.
5
5
5
Couzens used his powers as a police officer to stop Everard with his warrant card and handcuff her.
Before killing Everard, 33, Couzens had tried to kidnap a woman at knifepoint, raped two others and sexually assaulted a young girl.
The landmark Angiolini Inquiry report this week concluded that Couzens should never have been a police officer.
Three different forces missed a series of “red flag” opportunities to oust Couzens and stop his offending.
A woman who was arrested at the Clapham Common vigil for Everard says the Met has not changed three years on.
Patsy Stevenson’s arrest at the March 2021 vigil sparked outrage after snaps showed cops tackling her to the ground.
After Couzens’ conviction in October 2021, the Met told women to call 999 if they were “really concerned” about a cop arresting them.
At the time, Stevenson said the advice would be “almost laughable if it wasn’t so disgusting.”
She added: “Can you imagine the distrust that people have right now?
“They have to protect themselves from the police in that manner – that is shocking.”
Former Met Police chief superintendent Parm Sandhu called the advice a “short-term solution” at the time.
But this week Scotland Yard told The Sun: “Our advice for women – or indeed any member of the public who is concerned about the identity of a police officer – is to call 999.”
Damning report
THE landmark Angiolini Inquiry report has concluded that Couzens should never have been a police officer.
Here are the report’s key findings:
- Couzens allegedly carried out a “very serious sexual assault” on a young girl while he was in his 20s
- He was also accused of attempting to kidnap a woman at knifepoint in North London back in 1995
- The father-of-two was further accused by two women of raping them
- One of the complainants alleged Couzens attacked her between late 2006 and early 2007 during a singles dating event at an East London bar
- The other claimed she was raped by Couzens under a bridge in London in October 2019
- In the summer of that year a man in drag wearing a blonde wig claimed Couzens inappropriately touched him in a Kent bar
On Friday, Stevenson told Sky News: “There’s other Wayne Couzens in the Met right now.
“Three years ago, we had this sort of promise of we’re going to vet them correctly.
“We’re going to do this, we’re going to do that. And it’s still not happened in that time.
“We’ve had David Carrick, we’ve had Cliff Mitchell, we’ve had so many others.
“You type in ‘Met Police rapists’ on Google, there’s just so many of them.
“It’s ridiculous and abhorrent. I personally believe that women shouldn’t trust the police.
“I wish we could. There is nobody that women and girls trust when things go bad.”
Feminist campaigner Julie Bindel said the Angiolini report “feels like the final nail in the Met’s coffin”.
Writing in the Spectator, she added: “It is unequivocal in its condemnation of those who turned a blind eye to the character and actions of Couzens.
“Sarah Everard would still be alive today had Couzens been reported, and action taken for his previous crimes.
“Up until recently, vetting for new officers has been woefully inadequate.
“The report includes 16 recommendations for change, and those changes cannot come soon enough.
“A uniform is not necessarily an indication of a safe and decent man: it can mean a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Sarah Everard’s family statement in full
Statement from Sue, Jeremy, Katie and James Everard on February 29, 2024:
“We have read, with great interest, the first part of the Angiolini inquiry and we are enormously grateful to Lady Elish and her team for their meticulous and in-depth work.
“The Inquiry has raised many important issues and will undoubtedly help to establish changes that will improve the safety of women and girls.
“As a family, the Inquiry has helped us, not just because of its significant findings, but because its implementation made us feel that Sarah’s life was valued and her memory honoured.
“Her death has not been dismissed as a tragic event to be acknowledged with sympathy and then forgotten – questions have been raised and actions taken to investigate how this tragedy happened.
“As a family, we have not had to fight for answers and, for this, we are very thankful.
“It is obvious that Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer.
“Whilst holding a position of trust, in reality he was a serial sex offender.
“Warning signs were overlooked throughout his career and opportunities to confront him were missed.
“We believe that Sarah died because he was a police officer – she would never have got into a stranger’s car.
“We strongly support the recommendations that Lady Elish has made and trust that these will be implemented forthwith.
“We cannot get Sarah back, but positive changes give hope for the future and will be of benefit to others.
“It is almost three years now since Sarah died. We no longer wait for her call; we no longer expect to see her.
“We know she won’t be there at family gatherings. But the desperate longing to have her with us remains and the loss of Sarah pervades every part of our lives.
“The care and support of family, friends and the wider community have helped us to bear this and we would like to thank them.
“We will be forever grateful to Lady Elish and her team for their hard work, support and consideration.
“They have out heartfelt thanks. We would also like to thank the Rt. Hon. Priti Patel MP, who, in her role as Home Secretary, commissioned the Inquiry.”
Women’s Aid chief Farah Nazeer said: “Today marks three years since the murder of Sarah Everard.
“Devastatingly, we still hear from too many women who feel that their experiences at the hands of violent men are disbelieved and dismissed by police, leaving them isolated and vulnerable.
“Too many violent and abusive men escape justice because crimes such as indecent exposure are not properly investigated or tackled.
Nazeer added: “Lenient sentencing does not reflect the severity of their crimes.
“For too long violence against women and girls has been the poor relation when it comes to apprehending, monitoring and sentencing offenders.
“This is borne largely out of out-dated sexist and misogynistic attitudes.
“I urge the Government to act now. We need real accountability for reform within policing.
“Women and children should be safe from those who seek to cause them harm.
“Police officers whose duty it is to protect them, should do their jobs with care, consideration and diligence, so that horrific murders like Sarah’s never happen again.”
Timeline: missed chances to stop Couzens
WAYNE Couzens served in three police forces before he murdered Sarah Everard and was sentenced to die in prison.
Concerns were raised about his behaviour at various points before the killing, including when he exposed himself to women and his demeanour at work, with claims that he was nicknamed “the rapist”.
Here is a timeline of events concerning the former police officer:
2002: Couzens joins the Kent Special Constabulary.
2015: Kent Police allegedly fail to investigate an indecent exposure incident linked to Couzens.
September 2018: Couzens transfers to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) where he had worked since 2011.
2019: Couzens and his wife buy a small area of woodland off Fridd Lane in Ashford, Kent.
February 2019: The Pc joins a response team covering the Bromley area of south London, having initially served in a Safer Neighbourhood Team.
February 2020: He moves to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command to patrol diplomatic premises, mainly embassies.
November 13, 2020: He steps out of a woodland area in Deal, Kent, naked and masturbates as a woman cycles past.
February 14 and 27, 2021: Couzens exposes himself to two female staff members at a drive-through fast food restaurant in Kent. He used his own credit card to pay and was driving his own car.
February 28, 2021: Couzens books a white Vauxhall Astra from a car hire firm in Dover, Kent, using his personal details and bank card.
March 2, 2021: 7pm: Couzens starts a 12-hour shift at his base in West Brompton, west London.
March 3, 2021: Then-Met Pc Samantha Lee goes to the fast food restaurant but does not trace Couzens’ car, despite the restaurant manager claiming his registration number is visible in CCTV footage. She is later sacked and barred from working as a police officer.
Later that evening Couzens uses his status as a police officer to trick Miss Everard into thinking she can be arrested for breaking lockdown rules in place at the time. After murdering her, Couzens hides her body in woodland near Ashford in Kent.
March 9, 2021: Couzen’s phone is wiped of all data about 40 minutes before he is arrested on suspicion of murder. In a brief interview, he tells a false story about being threatened by an Eastern European gang.
July 9, 2021: Couzens pleads guilty to murder when he appears at the Old Bailey by video link from Belmarsh high security jail.
September 30, 2021: Couzens receives a whole life order when he is sentenced, with Lord Justice Fulford justifying the punishment because the murderer’s use of his position as a police officer to detain Ms Everard was the “vital factor”.
October 2021: Couzens applies for leave to appeal against his sentence.
November 2021: The Home Office establishes an independent inquiry led by Dame Elish Angiolini to look at Ms Everard’s murder, with the first part focusing on Couzens and whether any potential risks or red flags were missed during his time in the police.
March 2022: Couzens is charged with four counts of indecent exposure over alleged incidents in January and February 2021.
July 2022: The Court of Appeal rejects his appeal against his sentence.
February 13, 2023: Couzens pleads guilty to three counts of indecent exposure in Kent between November 2020 and February 2021.
March 6, 2023: He is sentenced to 19 months for the offences, although he is already serving a whole life jail term for Miss Everard’s murder and will never be released.
March 21, 2023: The Casey Review, commissioned by the Met in the wake of Miss Everard’s murder, finds that the force is institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynist, and that there may be more officers like Couzens and rapist David Carrick in its ranks.
May 2023: Watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct calls for a national system to ensure all forces are told about criminal allegations made against serving officers, in light of the indecent exposure accusations against Couzens.
February 29, 2024: A report on the first part of the Angiolini Inquiry, looking at incidents during his career and whether red flags were missed, is published.
5