Nottinghamshire Police officers face ‘tough times’ with public confidence as Met Police officers are convicted

Reports showed public confidence in Nottinghamshire Police dropped slightly following the murder of Sarah Everard by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.

Couzens posed as an on-duty officer enforcing lockdown restrictions before kidnapping, raping and killing Ms Everard – leading to national protests on women’s safety and policing.

Last March, a police and crime survey found public confidence in Nottinghamshire Police dropped by 1.3 per cent in the space of a year, with 58.5 per cent of people surveyed having confidence in the force.

Further recent crimes by Met officers which have come to light include those of David Carrick, who committed dozens of rapes over a 17-year period, despite passing several vetting processes.

Serial rapist Carrick was this week jailed for life, to serve at least 30 years.

Both incidents have led to concerns Nottinghamshire Police officers could have their reputations tarnished by “bad apples” in other forces.

The cases were discussed at the latest Nottinghamshire police and crime panel meeting, amid the new reports about trust and confidence in the force.

Coun Scott Carlton, Nottinghamshire Council member for Edwinstowe & Clipstone, said: “With reference to Sarah Everard and other cases, it concerns me we may have a potential issue with how the force is seen overall.

“There’s always potentially going to be a bad apple, but it can be perceived every one of them is corrupt, an offender or a risk to society.

“Has there been anecdotal evidence of officers reporting to their superiors to say: ‘I know I’m a good officer, I know I’m working hard and keeping people safe, but I feel like I’m beginning to be tarnished with the same brush’?

“I know it’s important we call out these incidents but, sometimes, I think if I was in those shoes I’d think ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’.”

In response, Caroline Henry, commissioner, said it is “really tough times” for the county’s officers, but reassured councillors the force is working to keep the public safe.

She said: “I’m talking with police officers all the time and it’s frustrating for them when they’re working so hard to keep people safe.

“It’s tough times for them and I feel for them when they’re working so hard.”

Coun David Ellis, panel vice-chairman, said the Metropolitan Police is on a “different planet”.

He said: “I suspect a lot of the confidence and misogyny is people confusing various police forces.

“I do try to reassure myself that a lot of the stuff coming out about the Met is because it’s on a different planet to the rest of the police, but it is hard to disentangle what happens here with what we see on the television.”

It comes after Nottinghamshire Police was graded ‘good’ for its vetting, misconduct and misogyny policies following a national inspection.

In 2016, Nottinghamshire Police became the first force in the UK to record certain forms of public harassment of women – such as groping, using explicit language or more serious offences such as assault – as potential misogyny hate crimes.