WEST Mercia Police has outlined its commitment to taking the necessary recommendations within the Angiolini Inquiry which investigated how an off-duty Metropolitan Police constable was able to abduct, rape and murder Sarah Everard.
The findings of part 1 of the Inquiry were published in February 2024, making recommendations to strengthen policing and public trust.
Sarah Everard, aged 33, was kidnapped in South London on the evening of March 3, 2021 by Met Police constable Wayne Couzens, who identified himself as a police officer, handcuffed her and placed her in his car before transporting her to Kent.
Couzens subsequently raped and strangled Everard, before burning her body and disposing of her remains in a pond in woodland. He was later arrested on March 9, 2021 and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a whole life order on September 30, 2021.
The public inquiry chaired by Lady Elish Angiolini KC has found that Couzens had a history of alleged sexual offending and that failings in the vetting process allowed him to become a police officer.
Across the police service all the recommendations within the Angiolini Inquiry were accepted, and work has been ongoing to implement them, embedding necessary reforms into processes and culture.
While several recommendations are for the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, College of Policing, and the National Police Chiefs’ Council, forces across the country, including West Mercia, have taken immediate steps to deliver those for the police service.
West Mercia Police’s Chief Constable Richard Cooper has issued a statement in response to the case and the recommendations of the inquiry.
Mr Cooper shared the communities ‘horror’ in learning that Sarah’s killer was a police officer and that he exploited the trust placed in officers by members of the public.
He added: “Across our service we must ensure no one like him can ever work among us again.
“This means applying the highest standards of vetting, fostering a culture where officers and staff challenge wrongdoing, and maintaining absolute transparency and accountability to the public we serve.
“We are fully committed to being an anti-discriminatory and accountable police service – one where the public can have confidence that our officers and staff uphold the high standards and values our communities expect and deserve.
“We continue working to treat everyone with decency and respect, to eradicate corrosive behaviour, and to build and sustain the trust of our communities.”
The force has highlighted the following recommendations. Recommendation one – approach to investigating indecent exposure. Recommendation 14 – public commitment to being anti-sexist, anti-misogynistic, and anti-racist. And recommendation three – reporting by police officers and staff of harassment, sexual offences and inappropriate behaviour committed by fellows officers.
Visit https://www.westmercia.police.uk/news/west-mercia/news/2025/april/angiolini-inquiry-recommendations-progress/ for more information on how the force is implementing policies to address the recommendations.
