UK - Sarah Everard, 33, London, Clapham Common, 3 March 2021 MEDIA THREAD *NO DISCUSSION*

[Dotta]

Killer cop Wayne Couzens' horrific history of sexual offences revealed

Repeated opportunities were missed to stop Couzens leaving him able to stay a cop despite being a serial sex offender with a reputation for disturbing behaviour that led to his nickname 'the Rapist'.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens should never have been police officer - Angiolini Inquiry​

Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer and opportunities were missed to stop him, an inquiry has said.

A radical overhaul of police vetting and recruitment is needed now, the independent review found.

[…]

Police "repeatedly failed" to spot warning signs about his unsuitability to be an officer, the inquiry said, and it identified at least five incidents which were not reported to police.

The inquiry said this included evidence Couzens allegedly committed a very serious sexual assault against a child, described as barely in her teens, before his policing career began.

Lady Elish Angiolini, the lawyer leading the three-stage inquiry, believes there could be more victims. She said: "Without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight.

"Now is the time for change," she added, urging "all those in authority in every police force in the country to read this report and take immediate action".

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the report as "an urgent call to action for all of us in policing".

In a statement Ms Everard's parents and siblings Sue, Jeremy, Katie and James, said "it is obvious that Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer" and that "while holding a position of trust, in reality he was a serial sex offender".

[…]

Sarah Everard's killer Wayne Couzens should never have been police officer - Angiolini Inquiry

A Home Office-commissioned report finds Sarah Everard's killer's offending could have been prevented.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[JennieM]

Sarah Everard report sparks demand for urgent action to restore trust in police​

Inquiry chair says there is ‘nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight’ and radical overhaul is needed

Sarah Everard’s “devastating” murder was “entirely preventable”, campaigners have said, as they called for urgent reform of policing to restore women’s trust.

[…]

Responding to the damning 347-page report, women’s groups called on the government and the police to take urgent action to address the inquiry’s findings.

Harriet Wistrich, the director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, said: “The report must make devastating reading for the family of Sarah Everard who know now that her murderer could have been stopped many times before the ultimate horrific outcome.

“Its recommendations must of course be acted on not just by the Met police but by all forces across the country.”

The report said that as long as “vile behaviour and deeply abusive language” were normalised and accepted as banter in policing culture and elsewhere, “people like Couzens will be able to continue to commit atrocious crimes undetected”.

Wistrich said that those who failed to report wrongdoing and managers who did not “stamp out misogynistic culture within policing units” should also be held accountable.

[…]

Sarah Everard report sparks demand for urgent action to restore trust in police

Inquiry chair says there is ‘nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight’ and radical overhaul is needed

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

Police

Police should never have employed Wayne Couzens, report finds​

Official report finds new and worse failures to spot danger of officer who kidnapped and murdered Sarah Everard

[…]

Angiolini demanded an overhaul of police vetting and noted that this call, along with some of her other 16 recommendations, were addressing failings that forces had already been told to rectify by previous official reports, but had failed to do so.

She said police must take indecent exposure more seriously, amid claims it can be a gateway offence for more serious attacks.

[…]

The Met commissioner, Mark Rowley, said: “The fact that he abused his position as a Metropolitan police officer to carry them out represents the most appalling betrayal of trust. It damages the relationship between the public and the police and exposes longstanding fundamental flaws in the way we decide who is fit to be a police officer and the way we pursue those who corrupt our integrity once they get in.”

Rowley, who took office vowing to make radical changes to the scandal-hit Met, added: “Regardless of our significant progress over the past year, the scale of the change that is needed inevitably means it will take time and it is not yet complete.”

In a statement, the home secretary, James Cleverly, claimed the government had taken vigorous action: “Sarah was failed in more ways than one by the people who were meant to keep her safe, and it laid bare wider issues in policing and society that need to be urgently fixed.

“In the three years since, a root and stem cleanup of the policing workforce has been under way and we have made huge strides – as well as making tackling violence against women and girls a national policing priority to be treated on par with terrorism.”

Police should never have employed Wayne Couzens, report finds

Official report finds new and worse failures to spot danger of officer who kidnapped and murdered Sarah Everard

www.theguardian.com

 

[JennieM]

Everard family statement in full​

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 our heartfelt thanks. We would also like to thank the Rt Hon Priti Patel MP, who, in her role as home secretary, commissioned the inquiry.

‘Sarah died because he was a police officer’: Everard family statement in full

Sarah Everard’s family respond to Angiolini inquiry into her murder by former Met officer Wayne Couzens

www.theguardian.com

 

[Seattle1]

Wayne Couzens: Police should 'never have employed' Sarah Everard's killer, says inquiry​

Feb 29, 2024
Wayne Couzens - the man who killed Sarah Everard - should never have been given a job as a police officer - an inquiry has found. It said multiple police forces "repeatedly failed" to spot warning signs, despite a history of offending going back nearly 20 years. And it warned that without a radical overhaul of policing practices and culture, there is "nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight".

 

[JennieM]

Couzens was a prolific offender, the report said,allegedly attempting a knife-point kidnapping of a woman in 1995, and also allegedly attacking a child.

The report said a woman claims Couzens raped her in 2006 or 2007 while he was a special constable with Kent police, and that he raped a woman in October 2019 while he was an officer with the Met. He is also alleged to have tried to sexually assault a man dressed in drag in a Kent bar in summer 2019, during which he used his status as a police officer to silence the man’s complaints.

Devastating report lays bare police failings over Sarah Everard’s killer

Inquiry into serial sexual offender Wayne Couzens outlines multiple failings by police forces

www.theguardian.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Det Ch Insp Katherine Goodwin tells of the "shock" of telling her boss "you're not going to believe this".

She made the comments in a new BBC documentary that will air on Tuesday.

It is being shown days after the third anniversary of Ms Everard's death.

She said: "At that time, Wayne Couzens was a name that meant nothing to any of us. So immediately we start researching the name, also the phone number and the address that had been given when he'd hired the car."

Detectives then found out he was suspected of indecent exposure. Det Ch Insp Goodwin sent a team to Couzens' house in Kent to question him and, while officers were en route, a detective ran into her office, shut the door, and told her "you need to hear this".

Last week, an inquiry chaired by Lady Elish Angiolini said Couzens should never have been given his job as a police officer and chances to stop the sexual predator were repeatedly ignored and missed.

Lady Elish said "without a significant overhaul, there is nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight."

Sarah Everard: BBC documentary recalls police learning killer was Met officer

A new BBC documentary reveals the moment police found out Wayne Couzens was a police officer.

www.bbc.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[Sherlockhames]

Documentary now released on bbc iplayer

Sarah Everard: The Search for Justice

The investigation of Sarah Everard’s murder, how the crime unfolded and its impact.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[imstilla.grandma]

 

[JennieM]

Wayne Couzens launches formal complaint after prison officers stopped killer cop from receiving 50th present from mum​

• Former police officer moaned bosses denied him gifts of clothes and a book

Prison officers stop Wayne Couzens receiving birthday present from mum

The former police officer - serving a whole life order for kidnapping and murdering Sarah Everard - moaned that bosses at HMP Frankland prevented him from receiving a book and clothes to celebrate.

www.dailymail.co.uk