Wayne Couzens joined Met Police when a third were not properly vetted.
Wayne Couzens, a murderer cop, joined Metropolitan Police during a time in which a third were not properly vetted. The head of the police watchdog said.
Couzens was a Met Police officer when he kidnapped Sarah Everard, raped her and murdered her. Since then, he has been in jail for the rest his life.
Sir Tom Winsor, a member of the Commons home affairs committee, stated that 37% of Met staff did not have the most recent security vetting in 2018-19.
According to the Telegraph, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary stated that Couzens was believed to have joined the Met in September 2018.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary reported that 33% of officers, 72% of community support officers and 45% of staff had not been properly vetted.
During that period, 14,616 Met members were not properly inspected.
In the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard, Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick resisted calls to resign after it was revealed Couzens was known as the Rapist at other forces and had a reputation for ‘drug abuse and extreme pornography’.
Sir Tom stated he was “quite confident” that police would take vetting seriously after Couzens’ crimes. It was revealed that Couzens had been accused of sex crimes which were not properly investigated.
Sir Tom stated that he believed the Couzens case, as horrendous as it is, would have increased the police’s determination to stop another Couzens from getting in.
In the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, Met boss Dame Cressida Dick resisted calls to resign after it was revealed Couzens had a reputation for ‘drug abuse and extreme pornography’
“These officers are already on the streets, cutting crime and keeping communities safe.”
Sir Tom Winsor (HM Inspectorate of Police) are conducting two inquiries for Home Secretary in wake of Sarah Everard’s death.
The first will focus on the Met’s hiring process, including vetting, while the second will focus on how the force deals in corruption.
Sir Tom also warned about the dangers of the fast-paced police recruiting programme allowing criminals to get jobs as PCs.
He suggested that police could be infiltrated by organised crime gangs who would even seek to be promoted to senior ranks.
He said to the committee: “The police uplift programme with 20,000 extra officers is going great guns – they are ahead by some margin from their target of six or 7 thousand per year.
Serving Met officer Wayne Couzens kidnapped, raped, and killed Sarah Everard, 32.
“But, going too fast is risky. There is a risk that the wrong people will be hired if you are too fast in your recruitment.
For example, ‘Organised Crime Groups’ plan to infiltrate law enforcement agencies. Of course, some may aspire for higher ranks.
He stated that the other concern is that police officers going through probationary periods may display attitudes that are inconsistent with the office. Police need to be more diligent in recognizing these attitudes and throwing them out.
“Because otherwise they don’t, it’s storing up what could potentially be a 20-30 year problem.
“What kind attitudes?” ‘A fondness for violence, fondness for power over your fellow citizens or misogyny.
He added that while regulations allow forces to remove unsuitable personnel, they aren’t ‘good enough at doing it’.
“They might be tempted to say that we’ll take those rough edges off him/her because otherwise, he looks like he’s going be a good officer. This is a bad idea.
Sir Tom also referred back to earlier reports he conducted into large gaps within police vetting processes.
Following the shocking rape of Sarah Everard and her murder by Wayne Couzens (Metropolitan Police Officer) in March, the watchdog reported that he had found tens to thousands of police officers who were not properly vetted in a report he did in 2018 and 2019.
“We are now going back to look at the vetting standard now. We will provide information in 2022.