Responding to the five-year anniversary of the murder of Sarah Everard on March 3rd, Gemma Sherrington, CEO of Refuge, said:
“Five years on from the horrific murder of Sarah Everard at the hands of former Met Police officer Wayne Couzens, women and girls’ confidence in policing remains at crisis point. In the past five years, we’ve seen promises of reform and some welcome policy advancements, but women and girls deserve more. They need to see meaningful, lasting change to prevent atrocities like those committed against Sarah from ever happening again.
“Following Sarah’s murder, the Angiolini Inquiry sought to examine how such a vile crime was able to happen. Yet the second part of the Inquiry – published last December – found that many of the recommendations from part one have not been fully implemented. Alarmingly, the recommendation that officers with prior sexual offence convictions or cautions be barred from policing has still not been universally applied.
“Refuge has long called for a fundamental shift in police culture and practice, including significantly improving vetting practices to prevent perpetrators from gaining and keeping positions of power. While the Met has reviewed and removed a number of officers accused of violence against women and girls (VAWG) or other criminal offences, it previously recruited many officers without proper vetting. In the past five years alone, thousands have been allowed to join the force or remain in post without proper checks, including David Carrick and Cliff Mitchell.
“In response to Refuge’s Remove the Rot campaign, which revealed the scale of police-perpetrated abuse, the Government’s recent VAWG strategy committed to a new policy requiring all police officers to hold and maintain vetting clearance. It also committed to delivering on the Government’s 2024 manifesto pledge to strengthen requirements on forces to suspend officers under investigation for specified VAWG offences. While both measures are welcome, we are still waiting for implementation, more than 18 months after the Government took office.
“Refuge continues to mourn the loss of Sarah and stands with her family, as well as the many other women who have paid the price for policing’s ongoing failure to treat violence against women and girls with the seriousness it demands. The Met and the Government must now move beyond rhetoric and deliver real change by putting women and girls’ safety at the heart of policing.”
