It's five years since Sarah Everard was murdered - but do women feel any safer?

Take our survey and let us know your thoughts

Tributes left after Sarah Everard was murdered in 2021
Author: Abi SimpsonPublished 13th Feb 2026

It's approaching five years since the murder of Sarah Everard, who was kidnapped as she walked home in London.

It was a shocking murder committed by a serving police officer, and vigils held in the aftermath of her death sparked widespread debate about women's safety in the UK.

Five years on from Sarah's tragic death, we want to find out if you feel any safer.

Take our survey:

What happened to Sarah Everard?

Sarah was 33 when she was kidnapped in South London on the 3rd March 2021 while walking home in the Brixton Hill area from a friend's house near Clapham Common.

She was stopped by Wayne Couzens who identified himself as a police officer and handcuffed her.

He did work for the Metropolitan Police but was off-duty at the time.

He drove her to Kent where he raped and strangled her before burning her body and disposing of her remains in a pond.

Couzens was arrested and later pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping and killing Sarah.

He was sentenced to a whole life order on the 30th September 2021.

A public inquiry, chaired by Lady Elish Angiolini was commissioned to investigate how Couzens was permitted to serve as a police officer despite an extensive history of alleged sexual offences.

The first part of the report, published in February 2024, found that failings in the vetting process allowed him to become a police officer.

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.