Wayne Couzens joined the Met Police at a time when a third of its officers were not properly vetted, the police watchdog said
Killer cop Wayne Couzens joined the Metropolitan Police at a time when a third of officers were not properly vetted, the head of the police watchdog has said.
Couzens was a serving Met police officer when he kidnapped, raped and murdered 33-year-old Sarah Everard and has since been jailed for the rest of his life.
Speaking to the Commons home affairs committee Sir Tom Winsor said that that 37 per cent of the Met's staff in 2018-19 did not have up-to-date security vetting.
The Chief Inspector of Constabulary told the committee that he believed Couzens joined the Met at this time, in September 2018, according to the Telegraph.
The report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary found that 33 per cent of officers, 72 per cent of police community support officers and 45 per cent of staff had also not been properly vetted.
In total, 14,616 members of the Met weren't checked properly during that period.
In the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard, Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick resisted calls to resign after it was revealed Couzens was known as the Rapist at other forces and had a reputation for 'drug abuse and extreme pornography'.
Sir Tom said he was 'quite confident' police will take vetting more seriously after the crimes committed by Couzens, after it emerged he had previously been accused of sex offences that were not properly investigated.
'I think the Couzens case, horrific as it is, of course, will have intensified the determination of the police to ensure that another Couzens doesn't get in,' Sir Tom said.
In the wake of Sarah Everard's murder, Met boss Dame Cressida Dick resisted calls to resign after it was revealed Couzens had a reputation for 'drug abuse and extreme pornography'
'These officers are already on our streets, cutting crime and keeping our communities safe.'
Sir Tom Winsor and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary are conducting two inquiries on behalf of the Home Secretary in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard.
One will look at the Met's processes for hiring staff, including vetting, and the second will examine how the force deals with corruption.
It comes as Sir Tom also warned that the fast-paced police recruitment programme risks allowing the wrong people - including criminals - into jobs as PCs.
He suggested that police could be infiltrated by organised crime gangs who would even seek to be promoted to senior ranks.
He told the committee: 'The police uplift programme of 20,000 extra officer officers is going great guns - they are ahead by some margin of their target of six or seven
