SILHOUETTES representing 16 women killed by former and serving cops since 2009 were put up outside Scotland Yard today to demand culture change in the force.  

The black figures were placed outside the Metropolitan Police’s HQ by charity Refuge to launch its new campaign, Enough is Enough.

The action comes in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens, who abused his position to abduct her.

Police failures to identify Mr Couzens as a dangerous sexual predator have shone a spotlight on women’s safety and “a culture of misogyny” in the police.

According to the Femicide Census, since 2009, 16 women have been killed by a serving or former police officer, and 81 women have been killed by men since the murder of Ms Everard. 

Refuge CEO Ruth Davison said that this culture must be challenged “without delay,” adding: “That is why Refuge is gathering outside New Scotland Yard today.

“Refuge hears from women every day that have no trust in the police to protect them.

“We know that police officers accused of domestic abuse are a third less likely to be convicted than those who are not police officers. 

“We have heard the horrific accounts of how Wayne Couzens, a serving police officer, was able to use his position to kidnap, rape, and murder Sarah Everard. Enough is enough.”

The charity’s campaign is calling for the government to explicitly include domestic abuse, domestic homicide and sexual violence in the definition of the new serious violence prevention duty. 

The duty, which requires police and other public bodies to work together to prevent and tackle serious violence, is one of the measures proposed in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. 

Refuge claims that the Bill is the “perfect legislative vehicle by which the government can make change.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel this week announced an inquiry examining police failures that allowed Mr Couzens to abduct, rape and murder Ms Everard. 

However women’s groups have expressed fears that the inquiry will be a missed opportunity to address wider failings across all police forces.

End Violence Against Women Coalition director Andrea Simon said: “It is absolutely critical that the government rethink the parameters of this inquiry. 

“Couzens’s actions are part of a continuum of violence against women that is endemic within society — including in police forces.”