The rape and murder of Sarah Everard by an off-duty police officer was a crime so wicked it shocked the nation to the core.
The disgraceful failure to prevent twisted Wayne Couzens from killing the 33-year-old in March 2021 dragged the police’s reputation firmly into the gutter.
Yet three years after the monster was sentenced to die in prison, an independent inquiry has revealed the scandal is even more damning than previously thought.
Lady Elish Angiolini’s report found Couzens should never have been allowed a job as a police officer in the first place.
Disturbingly, three forces – the Met Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and Kent Police – missed countless warning signs about his unsuitability for uniform.
The murder of Sarah Everard dragged the reputation of policing firmly into the gutter
Wayne Couzens’ depraved sexual proclivities were an open secret among colleagues
The litany of failures make deeply troubling reading. Lamentable vetting meant he slipped through the net repeatedly.
Couzens was reported eight times for indecent exposure but was able to continue in the police because ‘lethargic and inadequate’ investigations were closed.
His depraved sexual proclivities were an open secret among colleagues.
Red flags were being waved in all directions yet no one acted to rein him in.
The grotesque consequence of this systemic failure was laid bare by Lady Elish. Had police done their jobs properly, she said, Sarah might still be alive.
Coming hard on the heels of rampant racism and sexism at Charing Cross police station and officers sharing vile pictures of two sisters murdered in a London park, public trust in the police in general and the Met in particular is at rock bottom.
There is a long road ahead to restoring faith. Vetting must be improved, indecent exposure allegations treated seriously, incompetence drummed out and officers given the confidence to report bigotry.
Police chiefs must address these issues urgently. As Lady Elish warns: ‘Without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight.’
Of course, we must never forget that every day thousands of officers perform a difficult and complex task, often risking their own safety to protect and serve the public.
But we deserve and expect a police service that catches criminals – not a grievously failing system that harbours them.
Burying worse news
James Cleverly’s refusal to publish an avalanche of reports exposing immigration scandals in Britain led to the deeply unfair sacking of the borders watchdog.
So how curious that the Home Secretary decided to release the 13 long-overdue investigations yesterday – when all eyes were trained elsewhere.
Home Secretary James Cleverly decided to release the findings of an overdue investigation into immigration scandals yesterday – on the same day the Angiolini report into police failures over Couzens was released
He pumped them out on the same day as the Angiolini report into police failures over Couzens, Home Office figures showing a record number of foreign workers (mostly low-paid) and their families being given visas, and confirmation an all-time-high of 62,000 people had received asylum. The National Audit Office also warned the Rwanda scheme was floundering.
These all showed catastrophic failures at Mr Cleverly’s department – and made a mockery of his pledge to cut immigration.
So was he cynically attempting to try to bury bad news under even worse news?
Arresting the truth
As the face of law and order, the police ought to feel an obligation to tell the truth.
So it’s troubling that the crimes of Scarlet Blake, the transgender cat mutilator and murderer, will be recorded as having been committed by a woman.
Thames Valley Police say this is because the killer identifies as a female. But as men are more likely to kill, this will inevitably skew statistics which are used to identify risk and put in place precautions.
By pandering to a woke agenda, the force is compromising the safety of all women.
