Eight indecent exposures before he killed Sarah ...but police did nothing

MET IGNORED SERIES OF WARNINGS THAT SHOULD HAVE STOPPED COUZENS JOINING FORCE

- Martin Bentham

WAYNE COUZENS was able to murder Sarah Everard because the Met and other forces ignored a succession of "red flags" about his predatory sexual offending that should have stopped him being in the police, a damning report concluded today.

In the 343-page analysis of the tragedy, inquiry chief Elish Angiolini says the missed opportunities to halt Couzens included the failure to pursue eight incidents of indecent exposure that were reported to police before he kidnapped Ms Everard, 33, in Clapham in March 2021.

It also blames vetting failures by the Met and a police culture involving "vile behaviour and deeply abusive language" treated as "banter" for the failure to detect his predatory nature - and highlights Couzens' interest in violent and extreme pornography as further evidence of his deviant sexual activity.

Today's report also reveals a series of further alleged crimes by Couzens including a knifepoint kidnapping in north London in 2015, two rapes in the capital, and an "alleged sexual assault against a child "barely in her teens" before he joined Kent Police as a volunteer officer in 2006. It warns, however, that despite the catalogue of failings, there is still nothing to stop another violent predator like Couzens from being in the police and calls for extensive reforms to prevent this.

The recommendations include treating indecent exposure incidents with the "seriousness" they merit, including a public information campaign to encourage victims to come forward, and far stricter vetting of officers.