Sarah Everard's BBC documentary focusing on 'police failure' in the investigation into the murder of officer Wayne Couzens is released by the BBC
A NEW BBC documentary will focus on “the failings of the police” in the investigation into the murder of Sarah Everard by officer Wayne Couzens.
The Met officer made a false arrest kidnap Sara33, as she walked home from a friend's house in Clapham, south-west London.
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Couzens He then raped and murdered the marketing manager, whose burned body was found a week later more than 50 miles away Knows.
The new documentary looks at the Met's investigation into Sarah's murder, how devastating it is crime unfolded and its impact.
Told by those intimately involved with the case from the start, many of whom are speaking on camera for the first time, including the Senior Investigating Officer, the prosecutor and Sarah's local MP.
The movie is made by BBC Studios Documentary Unit.
During the making of the film, the production team was in close contact with Sarah's parents.
They hope this will bring more attention to issues such as women's safety and abuse of power Police and others in positions of authority.
Emma Loach, BBC Lead Commissioning Editor, Documentaries, said: 'The murder of Sarah Everard sent shockwaves across the country and sparked an urgent conversation about police failure and violence against women and girls.
“This is an important and timely film and we, like Sarah's family, hope it will contribute to the ongoing dialogue on the issues raised.”
Sarah's killer is serving his life sentence at HMP Frankland in Durham.
He was previously locked up in HMP Belmarsh in London.
Ex-agent Couzens pleaded guilty until the murder of Sarah on Friday, July 9, 2021, after previously committing pleaded guilty to her kidnapping and rape.
Couzens appeared via video link at the Old Bailey as Sarah's family watched from the public gallery.
Subsequently, on September 30, 2021, Couzens received a full life sentence for Sarah's murder. was told he would die in prison.
Only 61 criminals in Britain have been given this punishment, with Couzens being the first British officer ever to receive this punishment.
Lord Justice Fulford explained at the time that the rare conviction was imposed because Couzens had abused his position as a police officer.
The judge said: “Sarah Everard was a completely innocent victim of a grotesquely executed series of circumstances that culminated in her death and the disposal of her body. She just walked home.”
He told how Couzens traveled for a month from his home in Deal, Knowsto London as he devises a gruesome plan to “hunt down a lonely woman to kidnap and rape”.
Lord Justice Fulford said Couzens committed “distorted, selfish and brutal crimes that were both sexual and murderous”.
Police watchdog scored 75% more complaints
THE police watchdog has been inundated with a 75 per cent rise in complaints about rogue officers following the murder of Sarah Everard.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct received 7,000 referrals from 43 forces in England and Wales last year.
That compares with 4,000 a year before the Met officer was out of commission Wayne Couzens, 51, raped and murdered Sara, 33, in 2021.
The IOPC has the resources to deal with only 300 cases per year, so the vast majority are returned to individual police forces.
Meanwhile, it has asked government to increase disciplinary hearing powers so that unreliable officers can be excluded like doctors.
a Home office A spokesperson said: 'The public has confidence in the police and we expect them to carry out their duties to the highest professional standards.
“We have taken steps to improve the culture within the force and raise standards across the board, including strengthening vetting standards and launching the Angiolini inquiry to uncover any systemic issues within the force.
“We are actively working with the IOPC on its funding needs to ensure it can fulfill its core functions.”
He added: 'Sarah Everard's state of mind and what she had to endure would have been as bleak and painful as you can imagine.'
This was reported in October 2021 Couzens had appealed against his punishment.
His appeal against his life term was rejected by the Court of Appeal in July 2022.
In March 2023 Couzens was convicted to a further 19 months in prison for assaulting a cyclist while on duty and exposing himself to it McDonald's staff before he killed Sarah.
He pleaded guilty to three indecent exposure offenses in February 2023.
McDonald's staff were “shocked, upset and angry” after two incidents, which took place on February 14, 2021 and February 27 in Couzens. pulling down his pants while paying for his food.
The third sexual offense took place on November 13, 2020 and saw Couzens, who was on duty at the time, step naked out of a wooded area in Deal and perform a sex act on herself while a woman cycled by.
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Who has been given a lifelong assignment together with Wayne Couzens?
EVIL Wayne Couzens is one of around 70 criminals serving a life sentence in Britain.
The stiff sentence is the most severe a judge can impose and means they will never be eligible for release unless in exceptional circumstances.
They can only be issued to those who committed their crimes when they were over 21 years old.
Milly Dowler's killer Levi Bellfield is believed to be the only criminal in British legal history to serve two life sentences: for her murder, the murders of Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy.
Other notorious criminals currently serving life sentences include:
Rose West
Together with husband Fred West, Rose was responsible for kidnapping, torturing, raping and murdering young women for twenty years.
Police discovered a number of mutilated female bodies in the garden and cellar of the Wests' Gloucestershire home, while others were found buried under the floorboards.
Rose was convicted of ten murders, including that of her daughter, and sentenced to life in prison.
Her husband Fred, who admitted to twelve murders, hanged himself while in prison.
Michael Adebolajo
Micheal Adebolajo was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2014 for the brutal murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby.
Rigby was off duty and returning from Woolwich Barracks when he was attacked on May 22, 2013.
Adebolajo, along with his friend Michael Adebowale, ran him down and began stabbing and slashing Lee's body with knives and a cleaver in an attack so violent it almost decapitated him.
The pair waited for armed police to arrive and then charged towards the patrol car in the hope of being tortured. They were both shot and wounded.