Policing Surrey

By Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend

It has been a very difficult few weeks for policing as we have all reflected on the truly horrific murder of Sarah Everard at the hands of serving police officer Wayne Couzens.

The core role of being a police officer is to keep everyone safe which is why it is so hard to comprehend the shocking details of what happened to Sarah. It is agonising to think about what she had to endure, and my heart goes out to her family and friends.

Whilst the sense of shame and anger felt within policing has been palpable, it is also clear that the police service has work to do to rebuild trust with our communities, and I completely understand the strength of public feeling.

I have spoken to senior leaders within Surrey Police and they are determined to ensure that the national issues this case has raised around vetting, standards and misogynistic or predatory behaviour are treated with the utmost seriousness here in Surrey.

Since I took office in May, I have been out with lots of our policing teams across the county and I have seen how tirelessly they work to keep everybody safe. But, it would be naive to think we are immune from such behaviour, and must work hard to ensure it is eradicated so trust and confidence in our policing service can be rebuilt.

What this case has done is ensure that the wider debate around safety for women and girls has been top of the policing and political agenda, and is an issue I feel very passionately about. Women and girls have a right to both be safe and feel safe on our streets and in our public spaces and parks. Sadly, 50% of women who responded to a recent national survey said they didn’t. That has to change.

I was really pleased that Surrey Police’s approach to tackling violence against women and girls was rightly praised in a recent inspection report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).

This is an area that my office and Surrey Police are actively investing in with partners right across the county, including funding two brand-new services that are focused on changing perpetrators’ behaviour and stalking.

In addition, last month my office secured £175,000 in crucial funding for a project in Woking to improve safety for women and girls using the stretch of the Basingstoke Canal that runs through the town.

Since July 2019 there have been a number of indecent exposures and suspicious incidents in that area. The ‘Safer Streets’ funding secured from the Home Office will go towards installing extra CCTV cameras and signage along the canal footpath, the removal of foliage and graffiti to improve visibility and the purchase of four E bikes for community and police patrols along the canal. I am absolutely determined to make sure my office continues to work with Surrey Police and our partners going forward to find ways to make our communities even safer for everyone.