Why police reform begins at the top after Sarah Everard murder, betrayal of Leon Brittan’s family and other contempt for victims – The Yorkshire Post says

Yet, while the Home Affairs Committee report makes particularly harrowing reading for the family of the late Leon Brittan, a former Richmond MP whose reputation was allowed to be maligned erroneously by the mishandling of Operation Midland, more recent events add to the public’s continuing unease.

Sarah Everard’s murder by PC Wayne Couzens must be national watershed – The Yorkshire Post says

This case, after all, is just one of many to besmirch the reputation of the police, culminating in the enforced resignation of Dame Cressida Dick last month after the Metropolitian Police’s response to a succession of scandals exposed a litnay of shortcomings, including the abduction, rape and murder last year of York-born Sarah Everard by a serving officer.

And that a cross-party committee of MPs now headed by Dame Diana Johnson, the Hull North MP, reports such serious misgivings about the Independent Office for Police Conduct remains ominous.

This is the body that is ultimately responsible for dealing with complaints. Yet Dame Diana’s committee points to “lengthy inquiries, poor communications and opaque processes” that is being corrosive to public trust because it points to the police still being above the law and reluctant to learn from past failings.

Not only must resolving this be the top priority of the new Met commissioner – but also every police leader in the country. This issue is a failure of management, and the cultural change still needed starts at the top.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app, receive exclusive members-only offers and access to all premium content and columns. Click here to subscribe.