Urgent Action Demanded: Quarter of Police Forces Fail on Sexual Offence Policies Four Years Post-Sarah Everard Tragedy

A significant number of police forces across England and Wales have not implemented fundamental policies for investigating sexual offenses, a new inquiry has revealed. This alarming discovery comes four years after the tragic rape and murder of Sarah Everard, highlighting critical gaps in public safety measures.

The latest phase of the Angiolini Inquiry stresses the urgent necessity for action to prevent further violent and sexual assaults against women and girls, specifically advocating for the targeting of predatory individuals. Lady Elish Angiolini KC, who chairs the inquiry, pointed out a clear disparity in how forces address violence against women compared to other high-priority crimes, where dedicated funding and preventative measures are standard.

Millenium TV has learned that Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has committed the government to “carefully consider each recommendation the inquiry has made” in response to the findings.

Sarah Everard was kidnapped and murdered by Wayne Couzens, a serving police officer, in March 2021 as she walked home in south London. Couzens, who had nearly two decades of police service, is currently serving a whole life sentence. Prior to Ms. Everard’s murder, he was reportedly involved in two separate incidents of indecent exposure.

Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) has been officially designated a “national threat.” In 2023, the government emphasized the need for police forces to unify their response and resources to combat such crimes, aligning them with efforts against other national threats. Lady Elish Angiolini stated, “Until this disparity is addressed, violence against women and girls cannot be credibly called a ‘national priority.'”

The inquiry also raised concerns regarding deficiencies in national data collection, particularly concerning the number of women reporting rape and other sexually motivated offenses in public areas. Lady Elish warned that without consistent data gathering and recording across all forces, crucial patterns of offending will remain undetected.

Ms. Everard’s family expressed their hope that the inquiry’s findings would lead to “far-reaching consequences.” In a statement, they added, “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 part two of the Angiolini Inquiry are calls for a broader Good Samaritan law to encourage public intervention against bad behavior, alongside the consistent collection and sharing of data at both national and local levels.

Farah Naz, whose niece Zara Aleena was sexually assaulted and murdered by a prolific offender in east London in 2022, shared her earnest hope that the Good Samaritan law she champions will be seriously considered and swiftly implemented. She explained, “My niece was walking home. That is all she was doing. 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.”

Further recommendations include enhancing street lighting, improving educational content on positive masculinity for men and boys, and consistent public awareness campaigns on how to report crimes like indecent exposure.

The Home Secretary reiterated, “Over four years on from Sarah Everard’s tragic murder, my thoughts today are with her family and all those who loved her. As home secretary, I will do everything I can to ensure women and girls can live free from fear and harm – something Sarah was so cruelly denied.” She confirmed the government’s commitment to halving violence against women and girls within the next decade and announced that a new Violence Against Women and Girls strategy would soon be unveiled.