Rape by police officers
Commission calls for a “general overhaul” of the British police force
February 29, 2024, 6:05 p.m
In March 2021, Sarah Everard is raped and murdered by a police officer in Great Britain. Now there is apparently a report that the perpetrator should never have had a career as a police officer. The report sees an extreme need for reform in the police and calls for immediate action.
After the rape and murder of a young British woman by a police officer, the British Home Office sets up an independent commission of inquiry. Now the commission, led by lawyer Elish Angiolini, is publishing a detailed, frightening one report. Among other things, it calls for a thorough reform of the recruitment and promotion procedures in the country’s police force.
33-year-old Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered in March 2021 in south London by Wayne Couzens, an elite police officer for the protection of diplomats, under the pretext of an arrest. The case sparked horror and strong criticism of the police in Great Britain.
Report denounces significant errors in police work
The investigative commission has now come to the conclusion that “defects in the recruitment and promotion procedures ensured that Couzens was able to have an enjoyable career that should have been denied to him,” said Angiolini.
The commission also found that various police units had “ignored” red flags about convicted murderer Wayne Couzens, including sexual offenses dating back up to 20 years, suspicious sexual behavior and money worries. “Wayne Couzens was never suitable to become a police officer,” said Angiolini.
Couzens was already known as a sex offender
Couzens had exposed himself in front of two women just moments before Everard’s murder. However, he was not arrested, although his car was clearly filmed by surveillance cameras at a fast food restaurant where he exposed himself in front of employees.
The head of the commission demanded that every police station in the country read the investigation report thoroughly and “act immediately.” “Without a thorough overhaul, there is nothing to prevent another Couzens from operating in plain sight,” she warned. Among other things, all allegations of exhibitionism made against police officers must be taken seriously and checked.