Met Police Officer Clare Tett Dismissed for Accessing Wayne Couzens' Records

Former Metropolitan Police officer Clare Tett has been dismissed from the force after a tribunal ruled she accessed the custody records of Wayne Couzens, the killer of Sarah Everard, without a legitimate policing purpose. The tribunal concluded that Tett's actions were motivated by curiosity to discover the identity of the officer arrested in connection with the high-profile case.

Wayne Couzens was arrested on 12 March 2021, following the disappearance of Sarah Everard, who was reported missing on 4 March 2021. Couzens, a serving Met officer at the time, was detained on suspicion of kidnap. His name was not publicly disclosed until 12 March 2021, according to the tribunal's judgement.

Access to Records

The tribunal heard that two days before Couzens' name became public, PC Tett used police systems to access his custody records, as well as those of his wife. She also accessed the crime report information system (CRIS) for Sarah Everard's case. In addition to Couzens' records, Tett accessed the custody details for four other detainees held at London police stations on suspicion of serious offences, including murder and blackmail.

The appropriate authority stated that Tett, with over 20 years of experience and having completed relevant training, should have known that police data is to be accessed only for official purposes. While Tett initially claimed a lawful policing reason for her actions, stating she used Everard's case to refresh her licence on a system, the panel found this explanation unlikely.

The panel's conclusion was that the most probable reason for Tett accessing the records, given her lack of personal connection to the Everard case, was curiosity. This conduct was found to have clearly breached the standards of confidentiality and orders and instructions governing police data access. Tett was found to have committed gross misconduct and was dismissed without notice.

Tett is among several officers identified as having accessed material related to the Sarah Everard investigation without an apparent policing purpose. Previous High Court rulings indicated that seven officers had accessed files without a professional justification.