By James Simons-
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Commissioner, Mark Rawley, has revealed that corrupt officers will face the courts two or three times a week, as the force grapples with more “painful truths” which will emerge in the days and weeks to come as the force “continues to root out those who corrupt its integrity”.
Speaking to the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, the Met Commissioner warned that there will be more cases as “the service confronts a range of failings” in the force.
Mr. Rawley expressed his dismay at the “ghastly” crimes of Met rapist David Carrick and another Pc convicted of child sex offences, warning that purging his force will take time and expose more shocking cases of criminality by the force which would dishearten the public.
Outstanding cases yet to be brought before the courts included “violence against women and girls offences”, such as domestic abuse and sex offences, he said.
His revelation will come as a great shock to the British public, who are already aware there are bent cops in the force, but never knew the true scale of their presence.
Expressing his determination to root out rogue officers, he said progress was already being made in trying to uncover new cases.
Sir Mark Rowley apologised again to the victims of PC David Carrick’s “appalling criminality” and told the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee there will be more cases as “the service confronts a range of failings”.
He said the force “must improve dramatically for London” but admitted reform “won’t be rapid and it will be painful”.
Sir Mark urged the public “not to lose heart” as the MPS roots out corrupt officers “who shouldn’t be here”.
He told the committee that “lifting the stone” has revealed “painful truths” that cannot be resolved overnight.
“We have to prepare for more painful stories as we confront the issues that we face,” said Sir Mark.
“We’ve discussed before the systemic failings that create these problems, of these officers who corrupt our integrity.
“As we put in more resource, more assertive tactics, as we’re more open to people reporting incidents to us both from within the organisation and from the public, and as we more determinedly take on these cases, it will tackle the problems we face.
“But it won’t be rapid and it will be painful.”
Sir Mark said “we are all equally horrified that we have hundreds in policing who shouldn’t be here”.
“David Carrick is an awful example of that,” he added.
“I must reiterate here my sincere apologies to the victims of Carrick for our failings – a range of poor policy and poor decision-making. He shouldn’t have been a police officer and we have failed.
“We haven’t applied the same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals and I am deeply sorry for that.
“I think we have failed as investigators where we should have been more intrusive and joined the dots on this repeated misogyny over decades. And as leaders, our mindset should have been more determined to spot and root out such a misogynist.
“And I also want to say sorry to all of the women across London who feel let down and whose trust in policing is shaken by this.”
Integrity Hotline
Sir Mark said a new MPS integrity hotline has received tens of calls a week, leading it to look at new cases, a third of which relate to other forces.
“Some of these turn out to be malicious but some turn out to be substantive,” he told the committee. “These are generating new caseloads.
“In some ways, despite the tragedy we find ourselves in, we are actually leading the way.
“It is interesting that even though this is a Met appeal, one in three of the calls involve allegations against officers and staff in other police services in the UK, which we are passing on.
“Through our challenges we are helping the rest of policing confront some issues too.”
“There’s a trickle of them and more are going to be surfacing,” he added.
“We need the support of the people of London: please don’t lose heart as we confront these issues, as we do this necessary and painful work, to rid the organisation of those who corrupt our integrity,” Sir Mark said as he gave the latest update today on his efforts to restore his force’s battered reputation.
“You will see progress from us step by step
He said the Met had failed the public by allowing Carrick to join and stay in the force in what he described as a “ghastly case”.
Sir Mark said he was similarly dismayed by the conviction of another Met officer, Pc Hussain Chehab, 22, who has pleaded guilty at Wood Green Crown Court to four counts of sexual activity with a teenage girl in 2019, before he joined the force.
He also pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of a child and one count of sexual communications with a child.
Sir Mark said: “It’s another ghastly case. So far it does look like his vetting had been done, the sexual contact offences took place before he joined the police but sadly they weren’t known and then while he was in the police he was taking part in what might be described as grooming activity. It is ghastly and we apologise to the victims.
“They shouldn’t be facing that at the hands of a police officer. It’s another one of these cases that is going to trouble the people of London and I’m sorry for that and we’ll keep coming back to cases like this as we surface them.”
In the wake of Carrick’s guilty plea last week, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said more disturbing cases involving police officers could be uncovered in the short term.
A new Met Police integrity hotline has received 10s of calls a week, leading to new investigations, Sir Mark said, a third of which relate to other forces.
He told the committee: “Even though this is a Met appeal, one in three of the calls coming through roughly are for other forces. Through our challenges, we’re helping the rest of policing confront some issues as well.”
On Friday, Sir Mark published his two-year plan to improve standards and rebuild trust in the Met. He has promised a thorough review of the force’s culture and standards in an effort to “root out” officers such as Carrick.
In the reform plan, Sir Mark admitted the Met had been “too weak in countering racism, misogyny, homophobia and ableism”, but is yet to present a comprehensive plan to stamp them out of the force.
This week, The Eye Of Media.Com contacted Mark Rawley and Police Commissioners across the country, asking them to commit to implementing statutory laws against racism- something the force has failed to do for decades, and present offending officers before a judge.
He was also asked to enforce a rule that forbids new recruits in the force with criminal records, in light of the fact there are many officers with criminal histories who are serving in Britain’s police force.
The force is yet to respond to those requests, but time will tell how far the commissioner is prepared to go in tackling the serious issues in the force.
Image:PA