Multiple missed red flags to stop Sarah Everard’s killer

Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer, is the damning conclusion of a new report shedding light on the multiple missed opportunities to prevent his predatory behaviour before he went on to murder Sarah Everard.

The report, published by Lady Elish Angiolini, revealed that the former Police officer had been reported to the police on eight separate occasions for indecent exposure before he raped and murdered 33-year-old Sarah Everard in March 2021, after kidnapping her under the false guise of an arrest. The murder is widely considered one of the darkest days in policing history.

Angiolini uncovered evidence that Couzens, who joined the Police in 2006, was repeatedly accused of sexual abuse, including a “very serious sexual assault of a child barely into her teens” when he was in his 20s.

This sexual assault against a child was not reported to the Police. Nonetheless, the police ignored numerous ”red flags” about Couzens’ behaviour, such as reports of him indecently exposing himself in 2015, 2020 and again in 2021 just days before he murdered Everard. 

Three separate forces – Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Kent police and the Met – all failed to spot his unsuitability to become a police officer, concluded Angiolini.

Perhaps even more damningly, for a police force desperate to restore public trust in their officers, Angiolini concluded that “there is nothing to stop another Wayne Couzens operating in plain sight”. 

What now?

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley – who made it his mission to root out predatory officers from the Met – insists progress is already being made. In light of today’s damning findings, he pledged to go further and faster” to earn back trust.

Since the convictions of Wayne Couzens and another former Met officer, serial rapist David Carrick, the Metropolitan Police decided to review previous allegations against officers from the last decade where no action was taken, including allegations of domestic or sexual violence. 

As a result of this review, over 1,000 Met officers are currently suspended or on restricted duties. This represents one in 34 of the overall force, shining a light on the dark underbelly of the force.

Lady Elish Angiolini’s report has made a number of recommendations for the country’s police force. This includes better vetting, involving in-person interviews and home visits for everyone applying to be a police officer, plus a robust assessment of their psychological suitability. Additionally, she has recommended that anyone with a sexual offence conviction or caution is automatically rejected. 

James Cleverly, the home secretary, announced today that police officers charged with certain criminal offences will now receive an automatic suspension. He upheld this as evidence that his department is “taking action to address public confidence in the police”.

Others may find it astonishing that we are still at a stage where rejecting officers with sexual offence convictions is being posed as a recommendation. 

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