Urgent Action Demanded as Quarter of UK Police Forces Fail on Sexual Offence Policies Four Years After Sarah Everard Murder

Millenium TV has learned that over a quarter of police forces across England and Wales have not implemented fundamental policies for investigating sexual offences. This revelation comes four years after the horrific rape and murder of Sarah Everard, highlighting significant systemic failings. The latest stage of the Angiolini Inquiry is calling for immediate measures to prevent further violent and sexual attacks on women and girls, specifically urging the targeting of predatory individuals.

Lady Elish Angiolini KC, who chairs the comprehensive inquiry, pointed out a clear discrepancy in how forces handle violence against women compared to other high-priority crimes where “funding and preventative activity is the norm.” This stark contrast raises serious questions about the commitment to addressing such critical issues.

The inquiry underscores the tragic backdrop of Sarah Everard’s case. She was abducted and murdered in March 2021 by Wayne Couzens, a serving police officer, as she walked home in south London. Couzens, who had nearly two decades of policing experience, is now serving a whole life sentence for her murder. Prior to the attack, he was reportedly involved in two separate instances of indecent exposure.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) has officially been designated a “national threat.” In 2023, the government emphasized the necessity for police forces to coordinate their response and resources to combat these crimes with the same urgency as other national threats. Lady Elish Angiolini asserted, “Until this disparity is addressed, violence against women and girls cannot be credibly called a ‘national priority’.”

The report also raised concerns regarding significant gaps in national data, particularly the number of women reporting sexual assaults and other sexually motivated crimes in public areas. Lady Elish cautioned that without consistent data collection and recording across all forces, crucial patterns of offending will remain undetected, hindering effective prevention strategies.

In a statement to Millenium TV, Sarah Everard’s family expressed their hope that the inquiry’s latest findings would have “far-reaching consequences.” They conveyed, “It shows how much work there is to do in preventing sexually motivated crimes against women in public spaces and all those at risk. Sarah is always in our thoughts and we feel the inquiry continues to honour her memory. We stand in recognising the urgent need for positive change.”

Among the new recommendations from the second part of the Angiolini Inquiry are initiatives to encourage greater public intervention when witnessing inappropriate behavior, including the potential introduction of a wider Good Samaritan law. The inquiry also calls for consistent collection and sharing of data at both national and local levels.

Farah Naz, the aunt of Zara Aleena — who was sexually assaulted and murdered in east London in 2022 by a repeat offender after a night out — stated her strong hope that the Good Samaritan law, which she has passionately advocated for, will be taken seriously and implemented without delay. “My niece was walking home. That is all she was doing,” she explained. “This report not only examines specific failures surrounding Sarah and Zara but also addresses the wider structures, cultural patterns and operational weaknesses that place women and girls at risk in public space.”

Additional recommendations put forth by the inquiry include improvements to street lighting, enhanced information on positive masculinity for men and boys, and targeted, consistent public awareness campaigns on how to report crimes such as indecent exposure.