Officers need to ‘rebuild trust’ after Sarah Everard case
FEELINGS OF ‘SHOCK, DISGUST AND ANGER’ FOLLOWING MURDER
HUMBERSIDE Police have issued a statement of advice and assurance in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met police officer Wayne Couzens.
Sarah was walking home from a friend’s house in London on March 3, but was deceived by Couzens on the way as he stopped her and handcuffed her under the false pretence of an arrest under Covid-19 restrictions. Couzens used his knowledge as a serving Metropolitan Police officer to detain Sarah - he had showed Sarah his warrant before kidnapping her and taking her on an 80-mile journey. She was then raped and murdered.
Now Humberside Police Assistant Chief Constable Chris Noble has issued a statement expressing his feelings of shock, disgust and anger.
He has also offered assurance that Couzen’s actions do not representing the policing that he recognises in the Humberside area and gave advice on the best way to verify an officer’s identity and intentions.
Assistant Chief Constable Chris Noble said: “Following the release of details surrounding the murder of Sarah Everard and abhorrent abuse of power by Wayne Couzens, we completely understand and share the public’s feelings of shock, disgust and anger.
“Collectively as a police service, our job is to protect the public and keep them safe, and the actions of Wayne Couzens go against that in every sense.
“His actions do not represent policing and are not what the public should expect from other police officers, including those in Humberside.
“Police officers come into this job because they care about making a positive difference to the area they live. Our teams put themselves in harm’s way every day to protect people and willingly do so because they care about people’s safety.
“We know that this case will call into question the intentions of police and that we will have a lot of work to do to ensure concerns are addressed and public trust is rebuilt.
“In Humberside, our communities are extremely tight-knit, and our local officers have formed great relationships with many within those and have their support.
“We are confident that through tackling the community’s priority issues and our constant commitment to listen and learn, especially when it comes to how best policing can keep people safe, we can prove that our officers are doing what they are doing for the right reasons and with the best intentions. “We have robust processes in place when it comes to recruitment and vetting of officers and staff joining the organisation, and dedicated Professional Standards and Anti-Corruption Units to immediately take action against anyone within the service who doesn’t meet ours or the public’s expectations.
“Whilst we will do everything we can to build back confidence and trust, we do understand that some people will now have a greater desire for police officers to verify their identity and intentions when approaching them. “Some of our officers do work alone, particularly those in uniform or more specific roles, however it is very rare for plain clothes officers to be alone.
“If they are, they should be calling for assistance with other officers arriving soon or will have other officers stationed close by.
“We would like to provide reassurance that every police officer, including our Specials and plain clothes officers, carries identification with them and can explain to you who they are, what they are doing and why.
“Our officers will respect anyone’s right for further reassurance on approach and we ask that you do not listen to social media chatter suggesting running away or assaulting officers when they approach you.
“If people feel things are not quite right or you are in imminent danger you must seek assistance, if that means shouting out to another member of the public, flagging a car down or even dialing 999 then do that.”