Chief Constable Michelle Skeer on the shocking Sarah Everard case

These were some of the words used by the heartbroken mother of 33-year-old Sarah Everard to describe her daughter as former Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens was led away to begin a whole-life jail sentence for her murder.

A marketing executive living in London, Sarah was walking home from a friend’s house at night on March 3 when Couzens, a married father-of-two, used his status as a police officer to horrific effect. Pretending to be on duty, he first handcuffed Sarah, leaving her defenceless.

Then he raped and murdered her, before burning and dumping her body. “Grotesque” was how the judge described his crimes.

Yet even that adjective fails to capture the horror of such cruelty. The Labour MP Harriet Harman called on the Met Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to resign, saying that women’s confidence in the police had been “shattered”.

For her part, Dame Cressida said she recognised that a “precious bond of trust” had been damaged by Couzens.

'Caring, fun, intelligent, principled' - Sarah Everard

The tragedy sent shockwaves through UK policing, including in Cumbria. In an exclusive interview with The Cumberland News, the county’s Chief Constable Michelle Skeer gave her reaction.

“When the details of the Sarah Everard case came out, everybody was sickened,” she says. “The details that came out at the sentencing were sickening.

“I’m sure that’s what my officers and staff feel as well. In over more than 30 years of policing, I can’t recall ever seeing anything like that before. All of policing is reeling from this.

"All our thoughts have been with Sarah’s parents, family and friends.

“You can’t even imagine the turmoil and devastation they’ll be experiencing. It’s just shocking that a police officer would do that. The trust and confidence in police that we rely on so much, especially here in Cumbria, has been shaken.

“I can understand that.”

The Cumbrian force reacted quickly to the Everard case. Last week, it approved a new officer verification process, designed to let the public quickly confirm the legitimacy of any lone police officer.

They must now must provide a collar number on request, and radio the force’s control room so a colleague can confirm their identity, their location, that they are on duty and the reason for the interaction.

MURDERER: Former Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, who has been handed a whole life order at the Old Bailey for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard.

The wider issue of attitudes to women – and misogyny – has long been on the Chief Constable’s radar.

She says: “We take violence against women and girls really, really seriously. We’ve invested a lot of effort into looking at those really serious, violent crimes; but also at harassment against women and girls.”

A recent force survey on safety for women and girls attracted more than 5,000 responses.

Ms Skeer says: “A lot of answers related to the night-time economy: to town centres, pubs, clubs, and takeaway premises; and taxis also came up; as did things like street lighting, and CCTV. There was obviously concern.

“We want to listen and we do listen. We’re reaching out and want people to tell us what it’s like so we can improve things. We’re working with partners. It can be about having targeted patrols. We’re also looking at what we can do in the west of the county with things like CCTV and street lighting.”

Perhaps one of the most powerful weapons Cumbria has to combat misogyny is the Constabulary’s officer gender profile: under Ms Skeer’s leadership, the number of women officers has grown to 47 per cent of the force.

That’s the highest proportion of female police officers for any force in the country.

Ms Skeer says: “It’s really important. It changes the feel of the organisation. We should reflect the society we serve.”

Cumbria's Chief Constable Michelle Skeer

Meanwhile, in Cumbria’s courts, abusive partners are regularly prosecuted, while police lawyers routinely secure civil orders – such as domestic violence protection orders or sexual risk harm orders – to protect women.

“It’s not about any one single thing,” says Ms Skeer.

“It’s about working with partners such as the CPS and victim services, such as the Bridgeway [Sexual Assault Support Service] at Penrith. Even if a victim doesn’t want to report to the police, they can still get the help they need. If they feel strong enough to come to the police later, that is all captured.

“It’s about having all of those services; and about having that leadership and drive, showing we take these issues really seriously.

“But misogyny is a wider societal issue and policing reflects that. Of course we’ll have pockets of misogyny, and other forms of discriminatory behaviour; we reflect society.

“But I and others have worked hard to create the right culture within the force so people feel it’s inclusive; so they can challenge inappropriate behaviours.

“It’s up to all of us. If we see something inappropriate – a comment or banter – it should be called out there and then.”

Carlisle City Council Labour councillor Louise Atkinson, 41, is a primary school teacher and the current national vice president of the National Education Union (NEU).

EDUCATION: Carlisle city councillor Louise Atkinson says tackling misogyny should start in schools.

She believes most police officers - including in Cumbria - do 'a fantastic job.'

But misogyny is 'society wide,' she says. “There are many questions around the treatment of women.

“It starts at unwanted touching, and name-calling, things which most women in Cumbria and nation-wide have experienced.

“I’ve experienced it – and my daughter has experienced it. The NEU did a survey of girls at school and some of the statistics were shocking – the number of girls who experienced unwanted touching, name calling, wolf whistling.

“My daughter, while in her school uniform, has experienced this from grown men when there was no doubt she was a child. Until every man calls that out there won’t be the change we need.

“Women should feel safe walking down the street, minding their own business.

“If you allow the lower-level behaviour, it makes the more serious situations such as what happened to Sarah Everard more likely.”

The best place to begin tackling unhealthy attitudes is school, says Louise.

She points also to the weak regulation of social media content, praising the contribution last week of Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who accuses the technology giant of putting profit ahead of safety.

Louise adds: “Social media companies need to take more responsibility for the output that’s out there. Teenage minds are still developing.

“There’s also the access to pornography and the portrayal of women in pornography that affects how people judge what’s a good relationship and what is healthy. We need an honest, open conversation.”