Angiolini Inquiry report published

The horrific murder of Sarah Everard by a monstrous individual who served as a police officer is one of the darkest episodes in British policing. My thoughts remain with Sarah’s family and friends and nothing I can say or do will reverse the dreadful crimes committed. I also extend my full apology to the other women who have been abused by this man.

I am under no illusion that there is more to do and we are committed to real and lasting improvements. The report does acknowledge we have made progress in tackling abuse of power for sexual purpose by police officers, violence against women and girls related misconduct and the wider vetting processes. But much more is required.

Indecent exposure is a serious crime which has significant impact on victims. Last year we made it clear that policing will follow all reasonable lines of inquiry. This covers every crime but is particularly relevant to crimes like indecent exposure. Our guidance to officers makes clear the importance of following up any leads which could help us catch the offender. This includes taking a detailed statement, checking if there is CCTV available and looking for forensics. Our new evidence-based approach to sexual offences has a relentless focus on the perpetrator. The College of Policing will ensure all officers are properly trained, skilled and equipped to protect women and girls.

It is clear from today’s report that there were serious failures in how his police vetting was carried out. Last year the College of Policing updated our vetting Code of Practice supporting forces to identify and eliminate unacceptable behaviour before they enter policing and when they are in service. Vetting should be a continuous process and any individual who falls short of our standards should not be wearing our uniform.

We are consulting on some of the toughest standards in the history of policing. These reforms will do more than ever to stop the wrong people entering the service, monitor them closely when in the job, dismiss those who break our trust and ban them from ever returning.

We will support police forces to redouble their efforts to ensure vetting is done to the highest standards as set by the College of Policing. Nevertheless this stringent new approach to vetting will mean nothing unless applied consistently across policing. This is why we are implementing a new approach to accredit force vetting units that will require them to pass annual assessments.

Vetting will only ever be one part of the jigsaw and we must redouble our efforts to improve police culture.

The failings identified today are indefensible. I will continue to work with the Inquiry as it moves towards part two and I, with colleagues across all of policing, am determined to do everything possible to prevent anything like this ever happening again.

College of Policing CEO, Chief Constable Andy Marsh

• Read the Inquiry reports

Our work to improve standards

2021

• March – Republished training, guidance and research, so that police forces could ensure their officers are up to date when responding to incidents of male violence against women. See Policing for the protection of women.
• November – Published new guidelines to provide a framework to ensure vulnerable people receive appropriate help during interactions with the police. See Identifying vulnerability - new guidelines to support police.