The rape and murder of Sarah Everard by an off-duty officer should have led to cultural change. Without it, neither communities nor officers are safe Mukund Krishna is chief executive of the Police Federation of England & Wales Last year, part one of Elish Angiolini’s government-commissioned inquiry into the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, an off-duty police officer, considered how that outrage happened. The recently released part two of the Angiolini inquiry is just as devastating: a reminder of what happens when policing fails to face the harm in its own ranks. It confirms what the public already suspects, and many officers know: the predatory behaviour of Couzens and others like him doesn’t just slip through the cracks – it survives in the gaps created by weak supervision, flawed vetting and a culture in which silence feels safer than speaking up. Policing’s greatest challenge is not crime, but a corrosive mindset shaped by relentless demand, inadequate leadership and structural weaknesses across a broken system. Unless we confront that truth with honesty and humility, we will fail both the public and those who serve them. Mukund Krishna is chief executive of the Police Federation of England & Wales Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...