One in four police forces in England and Wales still do not have the most basic policies in place for handling sexual offence investigations, almost four years after the murder of Sarah Everard.

A new inquiry has revealed that more than a quarter of police forces in England and Wales still do not have the most basic policies in place for investigating sexual offences. The findings come almost four years after the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, a case that exposed deep failures in how the police respond to violence against women.

The latest stage of the Angiolini Inquiry warns that urgent action is needed to prevent further violent and sexual attacks on women and girls. Lady Elish Angiolini KC, who is leading the inquiry, said there is a striking gap between the way forces deal with crimes against women and the way they respond to other high-priority threats where proper funding and proactive prevention are already standard.

Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered in March 2021 while walking home in south London. Her killer, Wayne Couzens, had been a serving police officer for nearly two decades. It later emerged that he was accused of indecent exposure on at least two occasions in the months before the attack, raising serious questions about how earlier warnings were handled.

In 2023 violence against women and girls was formally recognised as a national threat, meaning police forces were expected to coordinate their approach and direct resources in the same way they would for terrorism or organised crime. Lady Elish said that until this imbalance is fixed, it is impossible to claim the issue is being treated as a true national priority.

The report also highlights major gaps in national data, including a lack of reliable information on how many women are reporting rape and other sexually motivated crimes in public spaces. Without consistent data collection across all police forces, Lady Elish warned it will remain difficult to identify patterns of offending and act on them.

Sarah Everard’s family said they hope the new findings will lead to meaningful, long-lasting changes. They said the report shows how much more needs to be done to stop sexually motivated crimes against women in public places. They added that Sarah is always in their thoughts and that the inquiry continues to honour her memory by pushing for change.

The second part of the Angiolini Inquiry sets out several new recommendations. These include encouraging more people to step in when they witness harmful behaviour, supported by the introduction of a broader Good Samaritan law. The inquiry also calls for consistent national and local data sharing, improved street lighting, better guidance on positive masculinity for men and boys and clearer public information on how to report crimes such as indecent exposure.

Farah Naz, the aunt of Zara Aleena who was murdered in east London in 2022, said she hopes the proposed Good Samaritan law is taken forward quickly. She said her niece was simply walking home and that the report exposes not only the failures surrounding Zara and Sarah but the wider cultural and operational weaknesses that continue to place women and girls at risk.

The inquiry’s latest findings make clear that without decisive reform, the same systemic problems will continue to expose women to danger.