Sarah Everard

People like Anthony Russell, who killed three people, also recently killed Ian Huntley, if you watched that case.

The Met police officer, Wayne Cousins, who of course killed Sarah Everard and Dale Cregan, who again, that was a recent case.

He killed police officers, Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone.

So we know that if Joshua was sentenced to a whole life order, he would never be released from prison.

Seemed like they, they had a pretty light touch response from the police, and I'm just really interested in your thoughts on that.

Um, you know, when you compare the response from the police to, um, protests by the likes of Just Stop Oil, or the absolutely horrendous response of the police to the Sarah Everard vigil.

Be really interested to hear your thoughts.

Thanks.

These protesters in Dover were not arrested probably because the police knew that they would be violent.

Yet, if you're not going to be violent, therefore if you're less likely to commit a criminal offense, you will be arrested.

And, um, you also mentioned the Sarah Everard, um, uh, protest as well.

We, we talked about that on a previous episode.

Look, what about that c-

But I didn't see any of them out when Sarah Ever- the Sarah Everard case was there.

Where were they all then?

What about that, that video, that clip a couple of years ago when there was a meeting of, you know, those that want to save women and girls, and a girl got up, a woman got up on the stage and s- and talked about a grooming gang of wh- of white men that she was in.

It is... is definitely in the cultural populace, in the mind of...

And the Me Too movement undoubtedly is probably the biggest effect on this, and then a number of other, certainly nationally, issues, like the murder of Sarah Everard during COVID, and because of the story arc of that...

the fact that we were all at home and we understood what it felt like to be oppressed.

And also, for the very first time ever in real life, not just like people saying it randomly online or on TV programmes, people genuinely checked their privilege during COVID.

They went, well, this is shit, but at least I'm not living with a violent abuser.

And so because of Sarah Everard's murder in that time as well, it...

Like, there was a genuine upswell in understanding around violence against women and girls.

And look, you know, I'll take some credit as well, not just me, but many feminist activists have worked very, very hard to make it into an issue that people take considerably more seriously.

While earlier this week, police arrested a man in his 40s on suspicion of murder, who was later released under further investigation.

Sabina's murder had happened just a matter of months after Sarah Everard had been abducted, raped and murdered by a serving police officer, Wayne Cousins.

Understandably, tensions were already high.

Trust had been lost and there was still fear when walking out and about.

A young woman just walking to meet a friend who never came home.

Just like sisters Biba Henry and Nicole Smallman, who were stabbed to death in a park last year by a stranger.

And only months ago, the killing of Sarah Everard, just walking home when serving police officer Wayne Cousins kidnapped Sabine.

But six months before, it was Sarah Everard's case.

Do you know why they've done this storyline as well? Why? It's because there's been lots come out in previous years about police doing this.

Well, Sarah Everard, but obviously that's an extreme version, but there's been loads of cases where police have used their position of authority to groom or manipulate young women.

Yeah, and it's just really funny because-

We've gone for it this early on in the episode, but we

What is undeniable is that many opportunities were missed to catch the abusive cop who eventually became a killer.

More than five years on from the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, police vetting is still under the spotlight.

A controversial new BBC drama documentary is about to air in the next few weeks, looking at the failings that allowed cousins to be repeatedly hired by police forces despite reported sex offending.

And there are two more inquiries to be published as soon as next month on lessons learned and progress made.

Sarah Everard's murder was a line in the sand.

Much improvement has been made, but arguably more words than actions.

Welcome to This Much Is True Crime with Emeritus Professor of Criminology, David Wilson, and me, Martin Frizzell.

And this is very close to home.