Wayne Couzens: Killer in Plain Sight

In 2021 Wayne Couzens, a serving Met police officer abducted, raped and murdered 33 year old Sarah Everard who was walking home from a friend’s house. He was labelled a rogue officer, a bad apple, but as more information emerged about the red flags that were missed, the public started asking questions about how this could have happened. And then another police officer, David Carrick, from the same unit was accused of 80 counts of sexual assault and the nation wanted answers.

Using the story of Wayne Couzens as a thread throughout, this documentary unpicks the red flags that went unnoticed leading up to the rape and murder of Sarah. The film uncovers a much bigger story of sexual violence in the police force, a force where sexual predators and domestic abusers can hide in plain sight.
This film weaves together interviews from experts, former police officers, survivors of police abuse and those who knew Wayne Couzens, to understand what and who enabled him to commit such a heinous crime. Could it happen again?

With over 1000 officers now being investigated in the Met, we hear from whistle-blowers, and survivors of coercion, rape and sexual abuse, just how endemic police violence towards women is, not only in the Met, but in other forces across the country.

The film reveals fresh evidence, stories never heard before, and new voices including people from Wayne’s past. We ask why, and how, so many violent predators managed to slip through the net to be given power that they could ultimately abuse.

From Chief Superintendents, to professors to campaigners for change, the film asks if women’s faith in policing can be restored, and if nothing changes, will another woman lose her life at the hands of a serving police officer?