Blocking restrictions and the closing of restaurants and bars due to the coronavirus pandemic have drained most of London’s streets. Although city officials have recognized that “many women feel insecure when traveling, working or going out at night”, little has been done to make the streets safer during the blockade, when walking is one of the few activities that people can do in public .
“Sarah’s disappearance seems so close to the bone, because every time women walk alone after dark, even subconsciously, we’re afraid that something terrible might happen,” Marisa Bate, a freelance writer, said on Twitter.
Another woman, Jess Jones, wrote on the platform, “When people are no longer safe walking home through the residential streets of South London, isn’t it time for the blockade to end ??”
This week, police raided lakes in Clapham Common and isolated a block of apartment buildings near where Everard disappeared, British media reported. The police also searched a forest area and property in Kent, some 70 miles southeast of London.
London has about 700,000 CCTV cameras, according to one estimate, and throughout the week the Metropolitan Police asked residents to check their private security systems.
“We have seized several CCTV recordings, but we know that there are likely to be many more out there,” Chief Inspector Katherine Goodwin said in a statement. “Please, even if you’re not sure, check the doorbell or CCTV footage in case it contains a clue.
Photos released by the Metropolitan Police show Mrs. Everard on the night of her disappearance, wearing a green coat and white and blue pants. She also appeared to be wearing green headphones and a white hat, the police said.