Research link between indecent exposure and contact offending
Angiolini Inquiry · Angiolini Inquiry Part 1 Report · Issued 29 February 2024 · Addressed to: Home Office
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation, Recommendation 4
With immediate effect, the Home Office, in collaboration with the College of Policing, should commission research to establish if there is an evidence-based link between active masturbatory indecent exposure and subsequent contact offending. Where relevant, findings should then be used to shape policy, training and guidance for police officers investigating indecent exposure cases (as per Recommendation 2).
Angiolini Inquiry, Angiolini Inquiry Part 1 Report · 29 Feb 2024 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Angiolini Inquiry Part 2 report, published 2 December 2025, noted that research was ongoing, with the Home Office seeking data from police forces on perpetrators, and that analysis was expected by end of 2025 (Angiolini Inquiry Part 2 First Report, December 2025).
- No published findings from this research have been identified as of March 2026.
Response — verbatim from government
●Home Office — initial response
Home Secretary James Cleverly said: "The act of pure evil committed against Sarah shocked the nation to its core. My heart goes out to Sarah's family and to all the brave victims who came forward to help inform this report and drive change. The man who committed these crimes is not a reflection on the majority of dedicated police officers working day in, day out to help people. But Sarah was failed in more ways than one by the people who were meant to keep her safe, and it laid bare wider issues in policing and society that need to be urgently fixed. In the 3 years since, a root and stem clean-up of the policing workforce has been underway and we have made huge strides – as well as making tackling violence against women and girls a national policing priority to be treated on par with terrorism. But we will continue to do everything in our power to protect women and girls. I am grateful to Lady Elish for her meticulous investigation. Her insights will be invaluable as we move forward in supporting our police to build forces of the highest standards of integrity and regain the trust of the British public."
Home Office · 29 Feb 2024 Written response →
●Home Office — follow-up
Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, Laura Farris said: "Sarah Everard's murder shocked the nation, devastated her loved ones and has profound implications for the future of policing. The Angiolini Inquiry comprehensively reviewed the facts and circumstances that contributed to Wayne Couzens' offending and we are grateful to her for her work. We have already made a series of significant changes to police vetting, disciplinary and dismissal procedures. But we accept her further recommendations on non-contact offences and the escalatory risk that they may pose. We are determined to leave no stone unturned in preventing an offence of this kind from ever happening again."
Home Office · 25 Mar 2024 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 9 Oct 2025 Inquiry assessment: Research ongoing - Home Office seeking data from police forces on perpetrators. Analysis expected by end of 2025. Source →
- 9 Oct 2025 · Angiolini Inquiry Part 2 Report Research ongoing - Home Office seeking data from police forces on perpetrators. Analysis expected by end of 2025. View source → Reasonable Progress
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.