“The findings within today’s report are as shocking as they are disgusting. Wayne Couzens should never have been a police officer, and many opportunities in multiple forces to stop him joining or get him out once he was in, were missed or ignored.

“These unfathomable failings speak to the serious challenges facing policing nationally. It is clear that police security vetting requires reform, but what will be much harder to fix is the culture that allows Couzens, and others like him, to operate unchallenged for decades. Policing needs to stand up and listen to the diligent and honourable officers, remove the cowardly and corrupt, and provide exceptional leadership to all. Only then will we have an organisationally just police service, and consistent procedural justice in policing’s interactions with every member of the public.

“Improving policing culture – keeping what is good and ejecting what is bad – for the benefit of the public and for policing, is what Police Now was founded to do. We are preparing to welcome over 400 new recruits into forces across England and Wales this year and will equip them with the skills they need to impact policing culture for the better and help build public trust and confidence in the service. We need passionate and determined people to join the ranks – those motivated to serve with honesty and integrity, to face up to the challenges and help pave the new way forward for policing. If you are as appalled by the report findings as we are, then you are what the service needs.  

“We can’t begin to imagine how horrendous the last three years have been for Sarah Everard’s family and friends, and what they continue to endure. Their commitment to supporting the inquiry is testament to their strength and bravery.

“This is a matter of urgency, of duty, and of ethics – for the sake of every victim and the sake of the public. This affects us all. Now is the time for change, it cannot wait and has already taken too long.”