I can understand why women don't trust the police, says Met chief on Sarah Everard anniversary

Met chief 'can see why women don't trust police' 14 minutes ago Share Save Sima Kotecha Senior UK correspondent Share Save The commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has said he understands why some women still do not trust the force, in an interview to mark the fifth anniversary of the murder of Sarah Everard. Sir Mark Rowley said "several ghastly cases of police officers committing awful offences against women" were bound to affect people's trust in the UK's biggest police force. He insisted more women were reporting allegations to the police, but said rebuilding trust in London would take time. "I can give the reassurance that we're doing everything possible to avoid people who are a risk to anybody - women and children or otherwise - joining the organisation or staying in this organisation," he said. Sir Mark told the BBC that 1,500 people had been "rooted out" since 2022 and were no longer working for the force, including many because of inappropriate behaviour towards women. However, some women's charities said trust in policing remained in crisis. Five years ago, Everard was walking home in south London when she was abducted by Wayne Couzens, who was then a serving police officer. He drove her to Kent where he raped and killed her. Couzens was later sentenced to a whole-life term for her murder. Sir Mark became Met commissioner in September 2022, replacing Dame Cressida Dick, who resigned following a series of damaging controversies, including the Everard murder. "We've got lots of evidence that we've rooted out a lot of the problem from the organisation," he said. "That's why 1,500 people have been forced out. "We haven't got to the point where every woman is going to say 'I completely, without question, trust the Met police'. This a horrific incident, of course that's going to live longer in memory. And what I'm seeking to do is say I can see that we're making progress, and people are noticing that. But they should expect more of us." According to data pub...