After serving as a police officer, detective superintendent and in the police complaint area for 30 years, I can say that police and staff across the country will have been appalled at the murder of Sarah Everard (Sarah Everard’s killer would have earlier identified as a threat police admit, September 30). The approach taken by all police forces, not just the Met, to deal with “minor crime” is now being put to the test. Such crimes are only considered “minor” by the police and not by the victims, otherwise they would not have bothered to report them.
While many officials and employees successfully conduct criminal investigations every day and go the extra mile for victims, this is not the case for all; You only need to report a crime that is rated “low” by the police to be detected. Every crime is judged on the basis of its gravity and its solvability, often by desk clerks under pressure to bring the case up without further investigation. This “don’t look too closely” approach means that any evidence that may exist will not be pursued or ignored. In my experience, too many police officers and employees lack investigative professional curiosity, which is made worse by the fact that managers are often not challenged at all or investigated into allegations of bullying against employees they consider their pals could pull itself.
People who commit serious crimes start somewhere, usually minor crimes first, and the police need to find a way to detect this and do something about it.
David Taylor
Paignton, Devon
Priti Patel described Sarah Everard’s killer as a “monster”. It’s not him, he’s a man, and this type of language creates a distance between him and other men who continue to molest, bully, attack and sometimes murder women. As long as men, and especially men in the police force, do not accept that they are part of the problem, misogyny will continue to plague women’s lives.
Ann Kelly
London
Perhaps the printed headline, “Women Are Exposed to an Epidemic of Indecent Exposure” (report, Oct. 1) would have been more effective if it had read, “Men Participate in an Epidemic of Indecent Exposure”.
Caroline Ley
Kirton, Suffolk
Do you have any thoughts on everything you’ve read in the Guardian today? You’re welcome E-mail us your letter and it will be considered for publication.
