The abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer in 2021 caused an outpouring of grief, fear and rage. The reaction was compounded when it emerged that Wayne Couzens, who is serving a whole-life term in prison, had previously committed sexual offences that the police had ignored.

In her latest report on these events, Lady Angiolini frames sexually motivated crimes against women in public places as a “whole-society problem”. She exposes a shocking lack of action on earlier recommendations and reveals that basic facts, such as how many women each year are sexually assaulted or raped in public in England or Wales, are not in any single dataset.

The report recommends a national rollout of Project Vigilant, which protects women in the night-time economy, and Operation Soteria, which raises standards in rape and sexual assault investigations. Alongside a “clear-sighted and unrelenting” focus on predators, it rightly highlights early intervention and prevention, including education work with boys. Other recommendations include a clearer focus on women’s safety in planning rules and a call for........

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