Sarah Everard’s family have hit out at the missed opportunities police had to confront her killer Wayne Couzens.
The findings of an inquiry uncovered a series of failures in recruitment and vetting processes that meant Couzens was able to remain a police officer despite an accusation of a sex offence.
The former Metropolitan Police officer was alleged to have committed a serious sexual assault against a child before joining the police in 2002.
In a statement, Miss Everard’s mother Sue, father Jeremy and siblings Katie and James said they had found hope that the “significant findings” announced in the first part of the Angiolini Inquiry could lead to changes to keep other women safe.
“We believe that Sarah died because he was a police officer – she would never have got into a stranger’s car,” they said.
“It is obvious that Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer. Whilst holding a position of trust, in reality he was a serial sex offender.
“Warning signs were overlooked throughout his career and opportunities to confront him were missed.”
The 350-page report also found that Couzens had shown friends and colleagues violent pornography, shared unsolicited images of his genitals to young women, and allegedly possessed indecent images of children.
