Met advises women ‘run into a house or wave a bus down’ if they don’t trust a male officer

The Met has advised women to ‘shout out to a passer-by, run into a house or wave a bus down’ if they don’t trust a male officer.

The response follows yesterday’s sentencing of former police officer Wayne Couzens who faked an arrest in order to kidnap, rape and murder 33-year-old Sarah Everard.

A trial at the Old Bailey on Wednesday heard how Couzens, who was a serving officer at the time, showed his warrant card before handcuffing Ms Everard and kidnapping her on Poynders Road, Clapham.

The fake arrest took less than five minutes.

The Met has since advised that anyone who feels concerned about an arrest should “try to seek some independent verification of what the officer says.”

This, according to the Met, could include asking to hear the voice of the operator on the officers radio and “ask to speak through the radio to the operator to say who you are and for them to verify you are with a genuine officer, acting legitimately.”

A Met spokesman said: “All officers will, of course, know about this case and will be expecting in an interaction like that – rare as it may be – that members of the public may be understandably concerned and more distrusting than they previously would have been, and should and will expect to be asked more questions.

“If after all of that you feel in real and imminent danger and you do not believe the officer is who they say they are, for whatever reason, then I would say you must seek assistance – shouting out to a passer-by, running into a house, knocking on a door, waving a bus down or if you are in the position to do so calling 999.”

Earlier this week, Camberwell and Peckham MP Harriet Harman called for the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Cressida Dick to quit, saying “women’s confidence in police will have been shattered”.

In a letter to the Met commissioner she wrote: “Following the heartbreaking and horrifying killing of Sarah Everard by a serving Metropolitan Police officer, women’s confidence in the police will have been shattered.

“Women need to be confident that the police are there to make them safe, not put them at risk.

“Women need to be able to trust the police, not to fear them. I think it is not possible for you to lead these necessary actions in the Metropolitan Police.

“I am sure that you must recognise this, and I ask you to resign to enable these changes to be taken through and for women to be able to have justified confidence in the police.”

Pictured top: Footage showed in court of Sarah Everard standing on the pavement facing Wayne Couzens, before he falsely arrested her.