Sarah Everard Murder - Serving Met Officer Arrested *Mod Note in OP*

This makes for chilling reading. She must have been terrified.

The police have a lot of questions to answer. I've the greatest of respect for the UK police force but they dropped the ball big time in the case of Couzens.

The recent Sabina Nessa murder is shocking too - facts only beginning to emerge about it.

Why do you have the greatest respect for the UK police force? Genuinely curious.

Are you for F***ing real?

Plenty of scumbags and perverts on the police force.

He won't have an easy time in prison, being an ex copper. Hopefully he will get a whole life term.

 It’s the same formulaic content and emotive language used in any victim statement.

That seems a very trite dismissal of the experience of people who have had their lives massively impacted with, not only losing a loved one, but the trauma of having to imagine what they experienced. Committing such acts, isn't harming just one person but everyone who cared for them and has to consider their final moments.

This statement in particular communicated the likely fear Sarah experienced at the hands of Couzen and if nothing else should force police forces, and individual members to pay attention to the monsters amongst their own numbers. It is clear that there were enough signs exhibited by Couzen that should have triggered action.

Maybe some body will report their colleague who has been exhibiting worrisome behaviour and action will be taken about it and we'll never hear about it because it doesn't escalate as what happened here.

Sadly, it can be very difficult to predict sometimes who will commit an awful act such as this one.

Couzens did appear to display some worrying behavior prior to this, but then we have the benefit of hindsight through which to view those incidents. Before he turned into a murdering monster, it's quite possible that those incidents might not have looked like the red flags they do now. It's hard to say really, unless you had close interactions with him.

Some psychopaths and killers show almost no warning signs at all before committing their first act. How do you keep people safe from the monsters hidden in plain sight, without going down the whole minority report style society where everyone is under heavy surveillance and suspicion?

Even if this man had been reprimanded for those previous misdemeanor incidents, it's likely he would have only got a wrap on the knuckles as they would not have been deemed serious enough to get jail time etc - which might just have further emboldened him or even angered him to commit this crime in the future either way. These horrible ideas were in his head, and for the most part that's where they tend to remain with these weirdos beyond the occasional slip of the mask - until they ultimately do the deed. (well, that's what the experts seem to believe who study these people anyway)

Very sad ending to this young woman's life. :( RIP Sarah.

I have no doubt that the psychological impact of being able to give a statement is immense, and I do not think they should not be able to speak their mind. But I dislike the fact that these statements are given shortly before the sentencing, which undoubtedly has an impact on people involved in the sentencing process.

If two crimes of the exact same nature ended up in court, and one was laden with impact statements and the other one wasn’t because the victim did not have anyone to speak for them, it seems unjust to have them be evaluated differently.

I don’t think the seriousness of this case is defined by what the victim might have felt (assumptions), but by the obvious position of power that the perpetrator’s job gave him. This is the bit that needs addressing by the MET, and other organisations.

Yes, victim impact statements come after a verdict, so won't influence that. They may impact sentencing though, and I don't think they should.