MPs call for improved police vetting process in wake of Sarah Everard murder

MPs have called for a better vetting and training process to restore public trust in policing following the murder of Sarah Everard and a series of high-profile allegations of systemic misogyny within London’s force.

The House of Commons opened International Women’s Day with a Westminster Hall debate on the reports of misogyny and sexual harassment in the Metropolitan Police.

MPs from across the political spectrum called on the Government to do more to restore public trust, with Liberal Democrat Sarah Olney insisting the “lack of appropriately experienced or trained police officers has been a contributory factor in allowing negative behaviours to flourish unchecked”.

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Ms Olney said several events over the last year have caused many of her constituents to be “concerned” about the attitudes of police officers towards women.

Sarah Everard, who was originally from Yorkshire, was murdered by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.Sarah Everard, who was originally from Yorkshire, was murdered by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.
Sarah Everard, who was originally from Yorkshire, was murdered by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.

The MP for Richmond Park said: “There have been several events over the last year that have caused many of my constituents to be concerned about the attitudes of police officers towards women.

“Our debate today will be haunted by the memory of Sarah Everard, who was killed by Pc Wayne Couzens of the Metropolitan Police just over a year ago, on March 3, 2021. Women all across London and beyond experienced the news of her disappearance and the discovery of her body with a sense of real dread and fear.

“I felt it very personally as the address where Sarah said her final goodbye to her friends was only a few streets away from where I used to live. I would have pushed my baby daughter’s pram along the route where my namesake walked her last walk, just like many other women on that night and many others. She was just walking home.”

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She criticised the messaging the Met Police issued about women’s safety following Wayne Couzens’ conviction and sentencing for murdering Sarah Everard.

MPs have called for improved processes for vetting potential police officers. Pictured, a vigil in March 2021 for Sarah Everard.MPs have called for improved processes for vetting potential police officers. Pictured, a vigil in March 2021 for Sarah Everard.
MPs have called for improved processes for vetting potential police officers. Pictured, a vigil in March 2021 for Sarah Everard.

“It advised women who were unsure whether a police officer intended to harm them that they could flag down a bus driver or shout to a passer-by for assistance.

“It felt as though they were not only accepting women fearing the police to be the norm, but also that they weren’t going to take any responsibility for resolving that. This episode has damaged public confidence in the Met.

“We also know that Waynze Couzens is not the only police officer to have committed violence against women.

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“Freedom of Information data shows there have been 2,000 accusations of sexual misconduct, including rape, made against Met Police officers over the last four years, only a third of officers who were found guilty have been dismissed.”

Shadow Home Office minister Sarah Jones urged ministers to look at how “we vet police officers” as she argued the process “is not good enough” to actually assess who a person is.

Conservative former equalities minister Maria Miller stressed the importance of “trying to deal with some of the root causes of the problem”, arguing “we have got to get sex and relationship education ingrained into our schools”.

Home Office minister Rachel Maclean recognised policing and the Metropolitan Police “must do better” but said the Government is “absolutely committed to raising the bar”.

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Opening the debate, Ms Olney said the recent report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which exposed violently racist, misogynist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers based at Charing Cross police station in London, “reveals a number of factors that contributed to the toxic culture they identified”.

The MP for Richmond Park said: “These included that officers were often isolated, lacked supervision and that there was widespread acting up, with officers assuming unofficial promotions.

“This meant that inappropriate behaviours or attitudes were not properly challenged at the right time and so became normalised.

“This strongly suggests that the lack of appropriately experienced or trained police officers has been a contributory factor in allowing negative behaviours to flourish unchecked, which leads back to the dramatic cuts in policing in the capital that we’ve seen over the last decade.”

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Ms Olney insisted “there’s a special responsibility on both lawmakers and law enforcers to ensure that they are upholding the law both in public and in private, and that when there is a visible breach, adequate action is taken to swiftly and effectively denounce the polluting behaviour and to restore public trust”.

On the issue of vetting, Ms Jones told MPs: “Vetting, I think, needs to be looked at… how we vet police officers. If you read the 250-page document around how we vet police officers, what they are vetted for is their propensity to be blackmailed.

“So, have you got problems with your finances? Have you got problems where you can be blackmailed? The vetting is not good enough on actually who you are, what you’ve said on social media over the last five years and what you think and whether you should be with vulnerable people. So our vetting needs to be looked at.”

On training, the shadow Home Office minister said it needs to be “overhauled”, adding: “Officers need ongoing training throughout their careers, including on anti-racism and including on tackling violence against women and girls.”

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Home Office minister Rachel Maclean said the findings in the IOPC report were “shocking”, adding: “Policing and the Met must do better. And we are absolutely committed to raising the bar.”

She went on: “As the public would expect, when officers are found to have committed gross misconduct and dismissed they cannot re-join policing.

“And we’re also ensuring that initial police recruitment vetting practices carried out in each force are rigorous and the assessment process addresses the candidate’s suitability for the role of police officer, including testing against core behaviours and values and when officers move force, they are then re-vetted.”

Ms Maclean concluded: “I can assure all colleagues that we are determined to use every measure at our disposal to tackle the issues that have been raised and to restore public confidence in policing.”