BREAKING: Alarming report finds police big failings following Sarah Everard homicide

Too little is being done to prevent violence against women and girls despite it being declared a national emergency, a long-awaited report has found.

Lady Elish Angilolini, whose inquiry was set up following the murder of Sarah Everard, said she found an “unacceptable level of inconsistency” across police forces. She said “too many” offenders are slipping through the cracks as a result.

In a heartbreaking statement to the inquiry, Sarah’s mum Susan said: “I am accustomed to Sarah no longer being with us, but I rage against it.” Lady Elish’s report found more than one in four polices in England and Wales have not brought in basic policies for investigating sexual offences.

Unveiling her long-awaited report, Lady Elish said: “More needs to be done. I found that data on men who are the perpetrators of these crimes is limited and disjointed, further impacting the ability for anyone to get a grip on the issues and the solutions.

“This is not just in relation to early intervention. It includes ensuring measures are effective in preventing known offenders from committing further sexual offenses against women in public spaces.

“Too many perpetrators are slipping through the cracks in an overworked system. Police, prison and probation resources are overstretched and underfunded.

“This is despite violence against women and girls being described as a national threat. In the 2023 strategic policing requirement for the first time, the government outlined how police forces needed coordinated response and resources to tackle such crimes in line with other national threats.

“In parallel, the police made a national commitment to relentlessly pursue perpetrators and create safer spaces. In reality, I have found the response overall lacks what is afforded to other high priority crimes where funding and preventative activity with sometimes little data on success is the norm.”

The Angiolini Inquiry, which was launched after the murder of Sarah Everard by off-duty police officer Wayne Couzens, will publish the second part of its findings on women’s safety in public spaces.

Ms Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, was abducted, raped and murdered by the former armed Metropolitan Police officer in March 2021. Last year, the first phase of the inquiry found Couzens should never have been given a job as a police officer and chances to stop him were repeatedly ignored or missed.

In the foreword to the report, Sarah’s mother, Susan, said: “I read that you shouldn’t let a tragedy define you, but I feel that Sarah’s death is such a big part of me that I’m surprised there is no outer sign of it, no obvious mark of grief.

“I have been changed by it, but there is nothing to see. Outwardly we live our normal lives, but there is an inner sadness. People who do know are unfailingly kind and have helped more than they will ever know.

“We are not the only ones to lose a child, of course, and we form a sad bond with other bereaved parents. After four years, the shock of Sarah’s death has diminished but we are left with an overwhelming sense of loss and of what might have been.

“All the happy, ordinary things of life have been stolen from Sarah and from us – there will be no wedding, no grandchildren, no family celebrations with everyone there. Sarah will always be missing and I will always long for her.

“I go through a turmoil of emotions – sadness, rage, panic, guilt and numbness. They used to come all in one day but as time goes by they are more widely spaced and, to some extent, time blunts the edges.

“I am not yet at the point where happy memories of Sarah come to the fore. When I think of her, I can’t get past the horror of her last hours. I am still tormented by the thought of what she endured. We find we still appreciate the lovely things of life, but, without Sarah, there is no unbridled joy.

“And grief is unpredictable – it sits there quietly only to rear up suddenly and pierce our hearts. They say that the last stage of grief is acceptance. I am not sure what that means. I am accustomed to Sarah no longer being with us, but I rage against it.”

Lady Elish Angilolini said: “Women have been clear and consistent. It is now time for the government and wider society to focus on disrupting the perpetrators. This has to start with prevention.

“Perpetrators need to be stopped and prevented from re-offending against women in a similar way again.”

Last year the first phase of the independent investigation published its findings into Couzens’ policing career and discovered he should never have been given a job as a police officer. The inquiry found chances to stop the sexual predator were repeatedly ignored and missed, and chairwoman Lady Angiolini warned without a radical overhaul of policing practices and culture, there is “nothing to stop another Couzens operating in plain sight”.

Police reforms to drive up standards are also under way under the current Government, including new rules for officers who commit gross misconduct or fail background checks to be automatically sacked.