Police Officers Across UK Investigated for Rape Since Sarah Everard Murder
Dozens of police officers across the United Kingdom have been investigated for rape in the five years since the murder of Sarah Everard, according to newly released figures. The shocking statistics emerge as the nation marks the fifth anniversary of the crime that exposed deep systemic failures within British policing.
Widespread Investigations Revealed
All seventeen police forces that responded to a Freedom of Information request by Sky News confirmed they had launched criminal inquiries into officers for sexual offences allegations. Sixteen of those forces specifically confirmed investigations into rape allegations against serving officers. Six forces disclosed that officers had been charged with rape, while fifteen confirmed sexual offence prosecutions had been brought since Sarah Everard's murder in March 2021.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News: "It's so often about power." He emphasized the critical importance of pursuing sexual offenders "regardless of your power, regardless of position." Rowley added: "I think it sends the right message that no one is really above the law."
Continuing Concerns About Police Conduct
Research by Sky News uncovered that officers are continuing to work without suspension or restricted duties while under investigation for sexual abuse allegations. Alarmingly, more than a quarter (28%) of Metropolitan Police officers at the centre of such probes did so between 2021 and 2025.
Helen Millichap, deputy assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police and national police lead for Violence Against Women and Girls, stated: "It's an incredibly awful truth that we have abusers and perpetrators inside our organisation." She warned this issue could be "one of the biggest factors preventing women and girls coming forward to report crimes to us" as they may fear "they cannot trust the response they get."
Systemic Failures and Reforms
Sarah Everard was abducted, raped and murdered by serving off-duty Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, who used his warrant card to lure her into his car. The 33-year-old marketing executive was walking home in Clapham, south London when she was attacked.
Sir Mark Rowley acknowledged: "Sarah should still be alive today and if policing was better then she might still be alive today." He added that the force "will always be profoundly sorry" for her murder "at the hands of a police officer."
The crime sent shockwaves across the nation and prompted widespread concerns about how police handle violence against women. Police chiefs have described Sarah's death as "one of the darkest days in police history."
Missed Opportunities and Improving Responses
Lady Elish Angiolini's 2024 report on the case revealed police missed eight opportunities to stop Couzens after victims reported incidents of indecent exposure between 2008 and 2021. Despite these failures, recent data shows some improvement in how police handle such cases.
The share of indecent exposure investigations where no suspect was identified dropped from nearly half (47%) in 2019 to one in three (33%) of cases in 2025. Simultaneously, the rate of positive outcomes, including charges and cautions, increased from 10% to 14% over the same period.
Government Action and Police Reforms
Jess Phillips, minister for violence against women and girls, announced that government reforms due this summer will "tighten rules requiring police forces to suspend officers under investigation for crimes such as domestic abuse or sexual offences." She described this as "part of our wider overhaul of the police misconduct system."
Sir Mark Rowley provided some reassurance, stating: "People should be reassured... if there's a criminal allegation of sexual or domestic violence in nature, the starting presumption is an officer is going to be suspended." He revealed the Met has removed 1,500 people in three years, calling this "completely unprecedented."
However, Rowley cautioned: "I think we've gotten through a large part of the problem, but I'm not saying we've got through all of it. That work continues." Wayne Couzens is currently serving a whole life sentence for his crimes, but the legacy of his actions continues to reverberate through British policing five years later.
