Home Office breaks pledge to fund sex-crime research after Everard murder

Government was to look at whether offenders tend to commit increasingly serious crimes after outcry over warning signs with police officer Wayne Couzens

The government has failed to fund research into the escalation of sex crimes, despite promising to do so in the wake of the kidnapping, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.

In 2021, the Home Office pledged to take forward work looking at the escalation of sexual offending" as part of its plan to tackle violence against women and girls. The plan, which had the tagline the safety of women and girls across the country is our priority", was informed by 180,000 public submissions after Everard was killed by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.