Sarah Everard’s family asserts that Wayne Couzens kidnapped and murdered her due to his possession of police powers, which he should never have had.
An official report reveals severe police failures, exposing Couzens’ long history of sexual offenses dating back nearly two decades.
The report, authored by Lady Elish Angiolini, reveals failures more egregious than previously known, concluding that Couzens was unfit for police duty and should never have been granted such powers. Angiolini highlights numerous missed opportunities across three police forces to identify Couzens’ danger to women and his unsuitability as an officer.
Couzens, a Metropolitan police officer assigned to the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, was entrusted with a firearm, further exacerbating the gravity of the situation.
Wayne Couzens abducted 33-year-old Sarah Everard from a London street in March 2021, exploiting his police warrant card and powers to coerce her into his car. Tragically, he proceeded to rape and murder her, leaving her remains scattered across the Kent countryside. Couzens is now serving a whole-life term in prison.
Ordered by the government, the inquiry’s report, published on Thursday, holds policing responsible for allowing Couzens to remain at large.
The report condemns police culture, revealing that Couzens exhibited troubling behavior such as showing extreme pornography to colleagues. Additionally, it highlights instances where reports of his indecent exposure were mishandled by both Kent police in 2015 and the Metropolitan Police in 2021. Routine checks that could have flagged his unsuitability for the role were neglected.
Furthermore, the report notes that crucial “red flags” were disregarded, including reports of Couzens exposing himself indecently in 2015, 2020, and 2021 – even days before the murder. It also reveals his financial troubles predating his time in the police force.
In a poignant statement, Sarah Everard’s parents, Sue and Jeremy, along with siblings Katie and James, criticize the police and express how their loss continues to haunt every aspect of their lives.
“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.”
In 1995, allegations suggest that Couzens attempted a knife-point kidnapping in north London. The report further reveals that a woman claims Couzens raped her in 2006 while serving as a special constable with Kent police. Additionally, he is accused of raping another woman in October 2019 while being an officer with the Metropolitan Police.
Another disturbing incident allegedly occurred in the summer of 2019, where Couzens purportedly attempted to sexually assault a man dressed in drag in a Kent bar, exploiting his status as a police officer to silence the victim’s complaints.
Furthermore, the report indicates allegations of Couzens possessing indecent images of children and attacking a child. Some of these allegations were not reported to the police before Couzens committed his heinous act of hunting for a woman on London’s streets in March 2021.
However, a total of eight allegations were eventually brought to the attention of officers, with little to no action taken.
Despite failing the vetting process when initially applying to join Kent police in 2004, Couzens was later permitted to serve as a special constable with similar powers.
The report emphasizes that he should never have been hired as a police officer in the first place. Moreover, despite being in debt, Couzens was employed by the Civil Nuclear Constabulary in 2011, a violation of the vetting rules at the time.
In 2018, Couzens applied to join the Metropolitan Police, which overlooked crucial information on the police national database linking his car to an allegation of indecent exposure in Kent in 2015.
In 2019, the Metropolitan Police failed another vetting check, neglecting to identify his potential for sexual offending and subsequently granting him access to a firearm.
Angiolini concluded:
“Repeated failures in recruitment and vetting meant that Couzens could enjoy the powers and privileges that accompany the role of a police officer. He went on to use his knowledge of police powers to falsely arrest Sarah Everard.”
Following the revelation of his crimes, some police chiefs privately deemed Couzens an aberration. However, Angiolini’s investigation exposed broader failures within the system and a persistent inability to fully comprehend the extent of these errors.
The inquiry chair said:
“Even after Couzens’ arrest and a review of his vetting clearance, the Met told the inquiry in 2022 that they would still have recruited him if provided with the same information. I found this astonishing.”
Angiolini called for a comprehensive overhaul of police vetting procedures, highlighting that several of her 16 recommendations echoed previous calls for action that forces had failed to address. She emphasized the urgency of taking indecent exposure more seriously, citing claims that it can serve as a precursor to more severe attacks.
In their statement, the Everard family said:
“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.”
Angiolini said:
“It is time for all those with responsibility for policing to do everything they can to improve standards of recruitment, vetting, and investigation. Wayne Couzens was never fit to be a police officer. Police leaders need to be sure there isn’t another Couzens operating in plain sight.”
The chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, chief ConstableGavin Stephens, said:
“Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer. His offending should have been stopped sooner. This should never have happened.
“Listening this morning to Lady Elish Angiolini’s clear findings of a catalogue of missed opportunities and red flags left me aghast. Police leaders across the United Kingdom will feel the same and take this as an urgent call for action, and reminder of how far we still have to go.”
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 assumed office with a commitment to implement radical reforms in the scandal-plagued Metropolitan Police, acknowledged the substantial progress made in the past year but emphasized that the necessary changes would take time and remain ongoing.
In response, Home Secretary James Cleverly asserted that the government has taken decisive action, acknowledging the multiple failures in safeguarding Sarah and highlighting broader systemic issues in policing and society that demand immediate attention.
“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.”
