Wayne Couzens has 'betrayed everything we stand for' says region's police chief

Police forces across the country will have to work “much harder” to win back public trust after the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met officer, a minister has warned

Policing minister Kit Malthouse said the case had struck a “devastating blow to the confidence that people have in police officers”, and he warned thousands of officers will need to do more so trust can be rebuilt.

Wayne Couzens was handed a whole life sentence on Thursday for the kidnap, rape and murder of the 33-year-old marketing executive.

The Met faces an inquiry into claims it failed to investigate claims about the behaviour of Couzens.

Mr Malthouse said: “Forces recognise that this has struck a devastating blow to the confidence that people have in police officers but also in the Met Police in particular.

“For those thousands and thousands of police officers out there who will have to work harder - much harder - to win public trust, it is a very, very difficult time.”

Mr Malthouse said there are important lessons to learn from what happened.

“My job is effectively to help the Home Secretary hold the police to account about what went wrong, how this monster slipped through the net to become a police officer, how we can make sure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

But he joined several other politicians and policing figures in rejecting mounting calls for Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to resign, adding: “She is a dedicated and talented and committed police officer who is driving the Metropolitan Police to ever greater standards of care and improvement and fighting crime.”

Staffordshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Jennie Mattinson said Couzens has “betrayed everything we stand for”– and stressed the force is committed to building trust with communities.

She said: “Following events in London, the sentencing of Sarah Everard’s murderer cannot remove the pain and suffering of her family or loved ones. Our thoughts are firstly with them.

“Policing, as a whole, has been rocked by this tragedy and the thought that a serving officer abused his position and turned against everything we are here to do is sickening. 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 want to make the streets of Staffordshire as safe as possible, in line with our vision of a Safer Staffordshire.

“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.”

Jess Phillips, a Birmingham MP and shadow minister for domestic violence and safeguarding, said trust in police is “not going to be built back overnight”.

She said: “It is going to be built up if we see the Government and police forces starting to actually take violence against women and girls, and the complaints that women make day in, day out, seriously.

“This is a conversation where women have been saying for some time, even before the death of Sarah Everard, that they don’t feel that they are trusted by the police when they speak up or that violence and crime against them is prioritised.”

Ms Phillips said she feels for the “really brilliant” police officers all across the country. She said she wants to see violence against women and girls prioritised in every police force across the UK.