[ad_1]
A public inquiry right into a British police officer whose rape and homicide of a girl horrified the nation has concluded that and not using a sweeping overhaul of failed vetting procedures, there was nothing to cease one other comparable case arising.
Wayne Couzens, 51, whose job was to protect diplomatic premises in London, is serving a full life sentence in jail after being convicted of the 2021 rape and homicide of Sarah Everard, whom he kidnapped from a London road utilizing his police credentials to pressure her into his automotive.
He subsequently pleaded responsible to 3 unrelated prices of exposing himself. In whole the inquiry discovered eight such offences had been reported, however not acted upon, previous to the killing of 33 12 months previous Everard.
Elish Angiolini, who headed the inquiry, mentioned serial failings within the vetting and investigations of Couzens meant that purple flags have been repeatedly missed, however he “may and may” have been stopped.
“Wayne Couzens was by no means match to be a police officer,” Angiolini mentioned. “And and not using a vital overhaul, there may be nothing to cease one other Couzens working in plain sight.”
After Couzens’ crimes got here to mild, Mark Rowley, the pinnacle of the London’s Metropolitan Police (MPS), started a significant purge of his pressure.
Since then additional serving officers have been convicted of great sexual offences, together with one who carried out 24 rapes. A report final 12 months concluded the MPS was institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.
“The dimensions of the change that’s wanted inevitably means it would take time,” Rowley mentioned on Thursday in response to the inquiry’s findings.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak known as Couzens’ case a “chilling, abominable crime that shook the nation to its very core.”
“I’m sickened by the small print which have come to mild at present and the police should urgently make adjustments to earn that belief again. No lady ought to ever really feel unsafe on our streets,” he mentioned in a press release.
The House Workplace, the ministry liable for policing, mentioned it deliberate to make it simpler to sack officers who did not cross fundamental vetting and people responsible of gross misconduct. It mentioned “a root and stem clean-up” of the police was underway.
Angiolini mentioned there was proof that Couzens could have dedicated a critical assault in opposition to a minor earlier than he turned an officer, and that he had a desire for violent pornography.
Couzens managed to affix Kent Police, in southeast England, as a volunteer constable regardless of having failed an interview and vetting course of. Kent Police later failed to research a report of an indecent assault regardless of the witness figuring out Couzens’ automotive.
Days earlier than he murdered Everard, Couzens was reported for exposing himself at a drive-through however was solely interviewed about this after his conviction.
“Given the recognized under-reporting of sexual offences, I imagine there could also be much more victims of Couzens’ offending,” Angiolini mentioned.
[ad_2]
Source link
