Wayne Couzens sexually abused youngster and was reported to police eight instances

Wayne Couzens was a “prolific sex offender with a warrant card” who was by no means match to function a police officer, the Prime Minister stated on Thursday after a report into the killer revealed he had dedicated crimes over a interval of practically 20 years.

Rishi Sunak stated he was “sickened” by new revelations that Couzens sexually assaulted a baby, tried to kidnap a girl at knifepoint and was reported to police eight instances for exposing himself within the years earlier than he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard.

An extended-awaited report by Dame Elish Angiolini into Couzens, revealed on Thursday, confirmed he had a protracted historical past of sexual offending courting again to 1995 however had by no means been arrested or prosecuted and was capable of move police vetting and grow to be an armed officer with each the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) and the Met.

Lady Elish stated there had been a “lamentable and repeated failure” to cope with allegations reported to police earlier than Ms Everard’s homicide in south London in March 2021.

Mr Sunak stated: “This was a chilling, abominable crime that shook the country to its very core. Sarah’s murderer was a prolific sex offender carrying a valid warrant card. He was never fit to serve.

“Police officers should be there to keep us safe – to be our guardians against those who wish to do us harm. That is why Sarah trusted him and his betrayal of that trust makes his crime even more heinous.

“I am sickened by the details that have come to light today and the police must urgently make changes to earn that trust back. No woman should ever feel unsafe on our streets.”

Lady Elish additionally stated there have been “major red flags and missed opportunities to halt Wayne Couzens’s career and bring him to justice”.

Sir Mark Rowley, the Met Commissioner, stated the report was an “urgent call to action”, including: “We must go further and faster, to earn back the trust of all those whose confidence in policing has been shaken by events of recent years.”

He 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. The majority of my Met colleagues share my determination to reform by both confronting the risk posed by predatory men in policing, and also, improving our protection of women and children across London.”

In a 347-page report, Lady Elish reveals how Couzens’s first interactions with police date again to 1995 when he allegedly tried to kidnap a girl at knifepoint in north London.

The incident was reported to police on the day however the perpetrator was by no means caught.

The girl got here ahead to police after seeing pictures of Couzens following his arrest for the homicide of Ms Everard.
The report additionally reveals how when he was in his early 20s, Couzens was suspected of committing a “very serious sexual assault of a child barely in her teens”.

The report stated the sexual assault supplied an “important link in the chain of events” main as much as the kidnapping, rape and homicide of Ms Everard.

He was additionally accused of possessing indecent photographs of youngsters, and in 2004 uncovered himself in the direction of a teenage woman in south London by driving previous her whereas masturbating.

The offence was not reported however the girl later got here ahead when she recognised Couzens within the media.

At some level between late 2006 and early 2007, Couzens is suspected of trying to rape a girl at a singles evening in an east London bar. The sufferer once more got here ahead after the homicide of Ms Everard. There was one other allegation of rape in October 2019 which came about below a bridge in London.

In the summer time of 2019, Couzens additionally sexually assaulted a person in a bar in Kent. The complainant was in drag and carrying a blonde wig when Couzens grabbed him inappropriately.

When the sufferer remonstrated with him, Couzens stated he was a police officer and invited him exterior to carry out a intercourse act. The man got here ahead to police following Couzens’s arrest for the kidnap, rape and homicide of Ms Everard. There had been additionally a string of allegations of indecent exposures, a few of which had been reported to police however not totally investigated.

In November 2008, Couzens uncovered himself to a girl in south London and whereas the offence was reported on the time no suspect was recognized.

In 2015, whereas working for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, Couzens once more uncovered himself however regardless of the victims offering police along with his automobile registration, he was by no means arrested or charged.

The inquiry concluded that the failure to analyze this offence totally was a “red flag and a missed opportunity to disrupt or even prevent further offending by Couzens”.

Following the homicide of Ms Everard, Couzens pleaded responsible to a few additional indecent exposures, together with two offences dedicated at a department of McDonald’s in Swanley, Kent, simply days earlier.

Lady Elish stated the investigations into these offences had been of “poor quality and inadequate”, with the officers displaying an “apathy and disinterest”.

She stated in future all circumstances of indecent publicity that had been reported “must be thoroughly and comprehensively investigated”. She went on: “Furthermore victims need to be encouraged to report and believe they have no reason for shame or embarrassment. These emotions should be left to the perpetrators to experience.”

Lady Elish stated with no radical overhaul of policing practices and tradition, there was “nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight”.

James Cleverly, the Home Secretary, stated Couzens’s crimes weren’t a mirrored image on nearly all of law enforcement officials.
But he stated: “Sarah was failed in more ways than one by the people who were meant to keep her safe.”

He stated the report laid naked wider points in policing and society that wanted to be urgently fastened.

“In the three years since, a root and stem clean-up 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.

“But we will continue to do everything in our power to protect women and girls. I am grateful to Lady Elish for her meticulous investigation. Her insights will be invaluable as we move forward in supporting our police to build forces of the highest standards of integrity and regain the trust of the British public.”

Gavin Stephens, chairman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, stated listening to the inquiry’s findings had left him “aghast”.
“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 a reminder of how far we still have to go.

“We are reviewing the recommendations in detail and I do not underestimate just how important this is for all of society.”
The report additionally recognized a string of different potential pink flags which ought to have been noticed by police within the years earlier than the homicide of Ms Everard.

In 2013, when he was working as a firearms officer with the CNC, he was reported lacking for a number of hours.

The report stated: “Couzens could have been driving around looking for a victim, in the same way as he did almost eight years later on the evening he abducted Sarah Everard and on other dates leading up to his crime.”

The report concluded that his unexplained disappearance ought to have been thought-about a warning signal when he was being vetted to hitch the Metropolitan Police.

In addition, there have been vetting failures when Couzens utilized to hitch each the CNC and the Met.

He managed to masks his determined monetary state and the actual fact he was so in debt that he had entered an Individual Voluntary Arrangement to be able to keep away from chapter, which might have prevented him becoming a member of the police.

Presenting her findings, Lady Elish stated: “The evidence seen by the inquiry has shown that failures in recruitment and vetting meant Couzens was able to continue a policing career which should have been denied to him.

“Failures investigations into allegations of indecent exposure meant opportunities to disrupt Couzens’ offending and bring his policing career to a halt were missed.” She went on: “The fact remains three separate police forces allowed him the privilege of being a police officer when they could and should have stopped him.”

Responding to the inquiry report, Ms Everard’s dad and mom, Sue and Jeremy, and siblings, Katie and James Everard, stated in an announcement: “It is obvious 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 Sarah died because he was a police officer – she would never have got into a stranger’s car.”

The household additionally known as for all of the suggestions to be made forthwith, including: “We cannot get Sarah back, but positive changes give hope for the future and will be of benefit to others.”

Ms Everard was 33 when she vanished in Clapham, south-west London, on the best way residence from a buddy’s home.

She was kidnapped by Couzens at half previous 9 on the night of Mar 3 2021 after he stopped her on the road, confirmed her his warrant card and handcuffed her. 

After placing her at the back of a white Vauxhall he had rented, he drove to a distant location in Sibertswold, Kent, and a few level round midnight, raped her.

At 2am, Couzens was seen on CCTV shopping for a drink from a petroleum station. At some stage up to now hour, he’s believed to have strangled Ms Everard utilizing his police difficulty belt.

Information Commissioner John Edwards, who contributed to the inquiry, stated: “This inquiry paints a concerning picture of how disciplinary concerns about police officers and recruits are shared. There is no room to hide behind misconceptions of the law on such an important matter: data protection law does not stand in the way of police sharing information about a potential recruit’s previous disciplinary action or warnings, nor does it act as a shield against investigations into police officers.

“There is a need for greater transparency here. The public have a right to understand how information will be shared to encourage trust in high standards of policing, and police officers have a right to understand how their information will be shared.”