Andrew Anthony is an Observer writer and is married to a New Zealander.
OPINION: Like many people, the British are not immune to the consolations of schadenfreude, particularly when it comes to the US. However bad things get, we can always find reassurance in the misfortunes of the most powerful nation in the world. Thus reports of American police shooting people – especially black people – tend to inspire not just condemnation, but also the unstated solace that at least things are not that bad at home.
And they’re not: black people tend to die more frequently in police custody in the UK than white people, proportionately speaking, and they are certainly stopped and searched at a much higher rate than the general population. But as appalling as the statistics are, there’s no real comparison with the lethal threat posed by American police forces.
However, there is one group of people who have become increasingly alarmed about policing in Britain, and that is women. Two years ago, a young woman named Sarah Everard was abducted on the streets of London. It was a shocking incident, made infinitely worse by the discovery a week later of her remains in the countryside south of the capital.
What turned that depressing news into something almost too terrifying to comprehend was the realisation that the man who kidnapped, handcuffed, raped and then murdered Everard was Wayne Couzens, a serving officer in the Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection squad. He had used his police ID to “arrest” her for supposedly breaking Covid regulations.
It turned out that Couzens had a history of allegations of illegal behaviour, including sexual assault and indecent exposure, and that his nickname among his colleagues was “the rapist”.
Earlier this year, another Metropolitan Police officer, David Carrick, pleaded guilty to 49 charges covering 85 serious offences, including 48 rapes, over 20 years. His work nickname was “Bastard Dave”.
These men weren’t hiding in plain sight. They weren’t hiding. Their attitudes were well-known and repeatedly overlooked, and allegations against them were serially dismissed.
It emerged in January that no fewer than 800 Met officers were being investigated in relation to 1000 sexual and domestic abuse claims. We’re not talking about a few bad apples but a thoroughly rotten environment that has enabled depraved predators to don the uniform of community protectors.
The Met is the largest police force in the UK, although its numbers shrank during the years of austerity, and nowadays, it’s quite rare to see a police officer on the street. They seldom turn up for crimes such as burglary, though they have become much more active in pursuing online hate crime, which often amounts to issuing warnings to those who express an opinion with which others disagree.
Confidence in police is plummeting, particularly in London, and especially among women. The Met’s own advice to women is that if they are approached by a lone male officer, they should challenge him, demanding to see his ID. But of course, Couzens brazenly showed his ID. What was Everard supposed to do then? Refuse to get in the car with him and then be charged with resisting arrest?
In any community, the police can operate effectively only with the support and co-operation of the public. Once that goes, it’s very difficult to regain, and suspicion leads to resistance, which in turn provokes force. That’s the unhealthy cycle that has rendered many US cities places where one of the most life-endangering things that can happen to you is to be pulled over by the police.
It isn’t like that in the UK – yet. But schadenfreude’s constant companion, complacency, is not going to rebuild trust. Zero-tolerance policing is an approach that seldom works in communities but maybe it’s time the Met police considered adopting it in relation to themselves.
Where to get help:
If you are a victim of family violence, sexual violence or there is someone that makes you fearful, threatens or harasses you, seek help as soon as possible. You have the right to be safe.
]If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
· Safe to Talk sexual harm helpline: 0800 044334, text: 4334, email: support@safetotalk.nz
· Rape Crisis: 0800 88 33 00
· Women’s Refuge: 0800 733 843
· Shine domestic abuse services free call: 0508 744 633 (24/7, Live Webchat is also available)
· Hey Bro helpline - supporting men to be free from violence 0800 HeyBro (439 276)
· Family violence information line to find out about local services or how to help someone else: 0800 456 450
· Oranga Tamariki line for concerns about children and young people: 0508 326 459, email: contact@ot.govt.nz1737,
· Need to talk? Free call or text: 1737 for mental health support from a trained counsellor
· Youthline: 0800 376 633, free text: 234, email: talk@youthline.co.nz
· Shakti - for migrant and refugee women - 0800 742 584 - 24 hours
· Elder Abuse Helpline: 0800 32 668 65 - 24 hours, text: 5032, email: support@elderabuse.nz
· Wellington Help for individuals, whānau and communities affected by sexual abuse in the Wellington Region: 04 801 6655 & push 0 at the menu - 24 hours
· Aviva For free 24/7 support line, call 0800 AVIVA NOW (0800 28482 669)
