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An investigation revealed Thursday into the homicide of a younger girl by a London police officer three years in the past – a case that shocked Britain and sparked widespread dialogue about violence in opposition to girls within the nation – discovered that That the police pressure ignored troubling alerts. The previous ought to have prevented him from being employed.
Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old girl, was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Wayne Couzens, a member of London's Metropolitan Police Service, in March 2021. Mr Couzens was later sentenced to life in jail for the homicide.
Ms. Everard's homicide highlighted how dangerous habits and violence in opposition to girls has been allowed to flourish within the nation's police ranks, prompting introspection and requires reform of the processes for hiring and supervising officers. Was demanded.
“It’s time for all these within the police to do the whole lot doable to enhance the requirements of recruitment, investigation and investigation,” Elish Angiolini, the lawyer who led the investigation, informed a information convention. “Wayne Couzens was by no means match to be a police officer. “Police leaders want to ensure there aren’t any different Couzens working in plain sight.”
The investigation discovered that when Mr Couzens utilized to hitch the Metropolitan Police Service in 2018, their preliminary investigation was deeply flawed, with out there info lacking, together with disturbing incidents when he visited South- The previous served in one other police pressure in Kent in England. The investigation discovered the knowledge was ignored when Mr Couzens utilized to work in London in 2018 and once more when he utilized for a specialist firearms function the next 12 months.
Earlier reviews included an allegation of indecent publicity that was by no means acted upon by authorities, referring to using pornography, and an incident, not detailed on the inquest, during which he was reported lacking from his dwelling. Went.
The investigation's detailed report examined how “there’s proof of his choice for violent and excessive pornography and a historical past of alleged sexual offending courting again nearly 20 years to Sarah's homicide.” It mentioned Mr Couzens could have extra victims who haven’t but come ahead.
The report outlines 16 suggestions for these liable for policing, masking, amongst different issues, tips on how to cope with incidents of indecent publicity, tips on how to perform dwelling visits and tips on how to display police candidates. “With out important change, there’s nothing to cease different Couzens working with a transparent imaginative and prescient,” the report mentioned.
“Now’s the time for change,” Ms Angiolini mentioned within the report.
In an announcement revealed within the report, Ms Everard's kin mentioned they believed that if Mr Couzens had not been a police officer, she wouldn’t have died after she acquired into his automotive, considering he was Deceived that he was below arrest.
“It’s clear that Wayne Couzens ought to by no means have change into a police officer. Regardless of holding a place of belief, he was in actuality a serial intercourse offender,” the household mentioned. “All through his profession warning indicators have been ignored and alternatives to handle them have been missed.
Mark Rowley, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, mentioned the report was “an pressing name to motion for all of us in policing.”
“We should transfer sooner to win again the belief of all these whose religion in policing has been shaken by the occasions of current years,” he mentioned. “Regardless of the numerous progress now we have revamped the previous 12 months, the dimensions of change that’s primarily required means it can take time and isn’t but full.”
Mr Rowley takes up the submit in September 2022 after his predecessor Cressida Dick stepped down amid a disaster of confidence within the police, and he has pledged to be “ruthless” in rooting out downside officers and addressing institutional issues throughout the pressure. have taken. ,
James Cleverley, the House Secretary, whose workplace is liable for overseeing policing, mentioned in an announcement that the police pressure had made “large progress” in correcting failings since Ms Everard's loss of life, however extra wanted to be finished. Wanted.
“The person who dedicated these crimes will not be a mirrored image of the overwhelming majority of devoted cops who work day and evening to assist folks,” he mentioned. “However Sarah was failed in additional methods than one by the individuals who have been meant to maintain her protected, and it highlights wider points in policing and society that urgently have to be mounted.”
Mr Couzens' crime was not the one incident of police violence that has shocked Britain in recent times. As efforts are being made to clear home, a number of different officers have began showing earlier than the courts. Final 12 months, Mr Rowley predicted that “two or three officers” might seem earlier than the courts every week within the coming months and years.
Regardless of earlier allegations of violence in opposition to girls, one other London officer, David Carrick, raped and assaulted a minimum of 12 girls in a two-decade regulation enforcement profession. Final 12 months he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Whereas the portion of Ms Angiolini's inquiry launched on Thursday targeted on Mr Couzens, sections to be launched later will look at Mr Carrick's case and think about systemic points in policing.