Reassurance from police after Sarah killer is jailed
POLICE chiefs in Staffordshire and Derbyshire have reassured their communities following the sentencing of former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens for the horrific murder of Sarah Everard.
Couzens was given a whole life sentence at the Old Bailey on Thursday. The conclusion of the case has sparked a debate about the safety of women on our streets and public trust in the police.
Yesterday the Prime Minister admitted that “there is a problem” with the way cases of rape and violence against women are handled.
Staffordshire Assistant Chief Constable Jennie Mattinson said: Couzens had “betrayed everything we stand for”.
She went on: “His monstrous actions were a terrible abuse of power and do not represent policing. Police officers and staff are sickened by this man’s crimes.
“Staffordshire Police is committed to building upon the trust and respect we already have with our communities to ensure all – particularly women, children and the most vulnerable – feel safe and are safe in our county.“
“We understand how deeply concerning his actions are and the desire to know how to verify an officers’ identity. Police officers always carry identification and can always be asked for verification. They are used to providing that reassurance.
“Our officers will not always be in uniform, but it would be extremely unusual for an officer in plain clothes to be working alone.
“If they are, they should be calling for assistance with other officers arriving very soon to support them to help you if you are in need.
“In light of the actions of Wayne Couzens, it is right that police officers expect and are tolerant of those who wish to be further reassured. They will want to explain and reassure who they are, what they are doing and why.”
“If you cannot verify an officer’s identity, or feel in imminent danger, you must seek assistance, even if that means shouting out to another member of the public, flagging down a vehicle or dialling 999. Derbyshire Chief Constable Rachel Swann said: “Policing has been rocked by what Wayne Couzens did, knowing that a police officer could commit such evil and atrocious actions. This goes against everything that we stand for. I understand that his actions have undermined trust in policing, but I want to reassure our communities that we will be doing all we can to gain the confidence of the public. “We are stringent with our vetting checks, and these are carried out throughout people’s policing careers. We have a dedicated and committed workforce and have seen an increasing number of female officers wanting to make a difference to keeping people safe, with women accounting for around 40% of our officers.
“There are very few incidents where a lone officer in plain-clothes would be stopping another vehicle without other resources being involved.
“However, because of this case, we will be reviewing our policies regarding plain-clothes officers in unmarked cars, and we want to try to make sure people do not feel isolated or unsafe while engaging with them. The onus is on us to do that, to create a safe environment, not on those women and girls we are engaging with.
In an interview with broadcasters yesterday, Boris Johnson said: “I do think that we can trust the police. And I think the police do a wonderful, wonderful job.
“But there is a problem. And there is a problem in the way we handle rape, domestic violence, sexual violence and the way we handle the complaints of women and girls. And it’s overwhelmingly women and girls.
“And, although the incidence of some of these serious crimes is not actually going up in the way that you might think – we are having success in getting many crime types down – the problem is we have too few prosecutions for rape and too few successful prosecutions, too few convictions.
“What we’re trying to do is compress that timetable between a woman’s complaint about what has happened and any action, whether it’s the court proceeding, or the conviction, or whatever.”