Kentish Express Ashford & District
‘The idea we can’t get home is insane’
Calls for a full public inquiry into ‘misogyny’ in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) are being made one year after a former Deal cop abducted and murdered Sarah Everard.
Married, father-of-two Wayne Couzens, who worked for the London force, snatched 33-yearold Ms Everard from the streets of London after staging a false arrest on March 3 last year.
He drove her to Dover in a hire car, before moving her to his own vehicle and driving to the outskirts of the town where he raped and strangled her.
Couzens, who is now serving a whole life tariff for the crime, burnt Ms Everard’s remains in woodland in Ashford.
An extensive search was carried out to find Ms Everard, during which time Couzens was caught on CCTV buying builder’s bags in Dover’s B&Q. He also disposed of evidence in Sandwich, such as Ms Everard’s phone.
He was arrested at his home in Deal on March 9, where he initially denied knowing Ms Everard before inventing a story about a gang threatening him and forcing him to abduct girls.
Vigils were held for Ms Everard following her death, with people calling for more to be done to improve women’s safety on the streets.
Couzens had remained an officer despite twice being accused of indecent exposure - once in 2015 while working for the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC), where colleagues nicknamed him ‘the rapist’, and again in the days before the murder.
Jamie Klingler, a campaigner from Reclaim These Streets, says misogyny in the MPS must be rooted out with a full public inquiry.
She said the impact of Ms Everard’s murder was a “watershed” moment for women’s safety that was wasted.
Ms Klingler told PA: “It was a watershed moment that could have changed our lives, that could have made our daughters safer, that could make us safer. And there were choices made for it not to be a watershed moment.”
Campaigners are now trying to force the Government to hold a statutory public inquiry to investigate misogyny in policing.
Currently, Dame Elish Angiolini is leading the first part of a non-statutory inquiry looking at
how Couzens was able to work as a police officer for three different forces - Kent police, the CNC and the Met - despite concerns about his behaviour. Following this, there are plans for a second part that would look at wider issues in policing.
The Met has also commissioned its own review of the culture and standards at the force, including Couzen’s former unit - the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command.
Ms Klingler said: “We absolutely continue to demand a statutory inquiry of police treatment of women, not of Wayne Couzens, not of a single person in a single act.
“This isn’t one bad apple and
there’s no way to fix the force without rooting all of this out.”
The MPS is facing serious concern over the behaviour of some officers.
In the wake of Ms Everard’s death, one officer faced misconduct proceedings after sharing a highly offensive meme relating to her kidnap. Others are due in court this month over offensive messages shared on a WhatsApp group in which Couzens was a member. This was prior to Ms Everard’s killing.
Cons Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis were also jailed for taking photographs of the bodies of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman and sharing them on WhatsApp.
And, earlier this month, the police watchdog published disturbing misogynist, homophobic and violently racist messages shared by officers based at Charing Cross Police station between 2016 and 2018.
The fallout led to the resignation of Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick.
The past year has seen a number of high profile alleged stranger murders of women, including the death of PCSO Julia James.
Ms Klingler said: “The idea that we can’t just get home safe and alive is insane for half the population. It isn’t that we’re harassed once in our lives and then we have a horror story to tell, it’s a constant decision tree of, ‘How do I avoid conflict? How do I not get noticed? How do I avoid putting myself in harm’s way?’”
Additionally, a senior officer has been given a final written warning for damaging policing’s reputation by ‘gossiping’ about Couzens.
Sergeant Simon Kempton, of Dorset Police, was on secondment serving as treasurer to the Police Federation when Ms Everard was abducted.
Following one of Couzens’ court hearings, Mr Kempton was approached by a journalist who filled him in on details heard in the court room. Publication of the evidence was prohibited by the Magistrates Court Act, but journalists have the right to be present in court or attend via video link.
Later, Mr Kempton shared information about Couzens’ defence on chat app Signal in a group made up of members of the Police Federation’s governing body.
In one message, he said: “Wait til you hear what his defence was today.” He discussed the fact Couzens had been caught on CCTV in B&Q buying builders’ bags, and the fact the victim’s body had been found in these bags. Mr Kempton faced misconducted proceedings for breaching standards of police professional behaviour concerning respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities, social media use and confidentiality.
Mr Kempton denied wrongdoing, but was found to have committed misconduct, namely by discreditable conduct and breaching standards on duties and responsibilities, authority, respect and courtesy. He was handed a final written warning valid for two years. He was cleared of breaching standards of following orders and instructions, and of confidentiality.