An inquiry has revealed police forces remain unprepared to investigate sexual offences, four years after Sarah Everard’s murder sparked nationwide promises of reform.
A quarter of police forces in England and Wales have still not introduced ‘basic policies for investigating sexual offences’, a new report found, raising concerns that women continue to be put at risk despite repeated commitments to change.
The findings, published today (2nd December), come in the second part of Dame Elish Angiolini’s inquiry, launched after Everard was abducted and murdered by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.
Angiolini says the reforms announced in the aftermath of the killing have stalled, condemning a ‘paralysis’ that has left women exposed while sexual offending in public remains ‘widespread’.
The report warns that recommendations issued more than a year ago remain largely unimplemented. Everard’s mother, Susan, writes that she is still ‘tormented’ by the horror of what her daughter suffered.
Angiolini also notes that police and government still lack reliable data on the scale of violence carried out by strangers in public spaces, and that high-profile pledges made in 2021 have begun to drift.
‘Twenty-six per cent of police forces have yet to implement basic policies for investigating sexual offences including indecent exposure,’ the report states.
Angiolini identifies ‘a troubling lack of momentum, funding and ambition for prevention work’ and stresses that an earlier recommendation for banning sexual offenders from policing has not yet been delivered. The report argues meaningful action must focus on predatory men rather than relying on improved lighting or behavioural advice aimed at women.
She warns: ‘There is urgent need to refocus on preventing offenders from offending and perpetrators from reoffending.’
While praising initiatives such as Project Vigilant and Operation Soteria, Angiolini argues national progress remains slow. The Labour government’s pledge to halve violence against women within a decade is welcomed, but the report notes a clear strategy has yet to be delivered.
In the report, Everard’s mother writes: ‘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.’
Image: Michael Förtsch/UnSplash
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