WAYNE COUZENS SUBJECT OF NEW CHANNEL 5 DOCUMENTARY
Channel 5 has commissioned Flicker Productions to produce 1 x 90’ documentary Wayne Couzens: Killer in Plain Sight - a powerful, year-long investigation into the story of a serving Met Police Officer who used his powers to rape and ultimately kill.
Produced by an all-female production team, the film represents the unheard voices of survivors of police sexual violence and reveals a culture of misogyny within the police, a lack of scrutiny with catastrophic results.
In 2021 Wayne Couzens, a serving Met police officer abducted, raped and murdered 33 year old Sarah Everard, as she walked home from a friend’s house. He was labelled a ‘rogue officer’, a ‘bad apple’, but as more information emerged about the red flags that were missed, the public started asking questions about how this could have happened.
And then another police officer, David Carrick, from the same unit was accused of 80 counts of sexual assault and the nation wanted answers.
Using the story of Wayne Couzens as a thread throughout, this documentary unpicks the red flags that went unnoticed leading up to the rape and murder of Sarah. The film uncovers a much bigger story of sexual violence in the police force, a force where sexual predators and domestic abusers were hidden in plain sight.
With over 1,000 police officers now being investigated over cases of alleged sexual offences or domestic violence in the Met*, the film reveals fresh evidence and asks if women’s faith in policing can be restored.
Channel 5 Commissioning Editor, Unscripted, Channel 5 and Paramount+, Daniel Pearl said: “The Flicker team have produced a powerful and affecting film which draws on interviews with experts, former police officers, previously unheard stories from survivors of police abuse and those who knew Wayne Couzens, to investigate what and who enabled him to commit such a heinous crime. I am hugely grateful to the incredibly brave survivors who felt able to share their powerful stories with us.”
Colleen Flynn, Chief Creative Officer, Flicker Productions said: “We wanted to examine the breakdown in trust between women and the police as a result of the Wayne Couzens case, the repercussions of which are still being felt today. By giving a voice to women on-screen and off, our aim is to instigate real systemic change, by shining a light on a toxic culture that enabled serious wrongdoing.”
Wayne Couzens: Killer in Plain Sight is a 1 x 90’ documentary commissioned for Channel 5 by Daniel Pearl, Commissioning Editor, Unscripted, Channel 5 and Paramount+. For Flicker Productions, Producer and Director Alana McVerry; Executive Producers: Colleen Flynn, Alannah Richardson and Jasleen Sethi.