By Emily Caulkett-
The head of the Metropolitan police has agreed that some serving officers need to be identified and removed as he deals with the shock from the conviction of serial rapist David Carrick.
Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, who assumed office in September, on Tuesday admitted the force has not dealt with its own integrity with “the ruthlessness and clarity” that it deals with criminals.
Carrick, an elite Metropolitan police officer, subjected women to a humiliating campaign of terror for two decades, committing 48 rapes to become one of the worst sex offenders in recent times. Several opportunities to sack him from the force were missed for years, allowing him to continue his reign of terror against women without any consequences
The force begins its process of sacking Carrick today.
It also emerged that a total of 1,633 cases of alleged sexual offences or domestic violence involving 1,071 officers and other staff were being reviewed from the last 10 years to ensure justice where necessary. The situation has become very embarrassing for Britain’s police force, as confidence in its integrity plummets to an all time low.
Rowley told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “It’s not a good situation, that’s why we’re reviewing it. I came back to policing four months ago because I’m passionate about policing. Most of our men and women are great people but we have not been tough enough at guarding our own integrity.
“We haven’t dealt with these issues, day in and day out for years, with the ruthlessness and clarity that we deal with criminals. And that’s what we’re getting on top of.”
There were some officers serving in the Met who needed to be identified and removed from the force, he admitted.
Rowley was asked if he could guarantee that a woman visiting a police station to report a sexual offence would not meet a police officer whose past behaviour was now under review, or who was tolerating similar behaviour in their department.
“I can’t, I’m not going to make a promise that I can’t stick to,” he said. “I’m going to put in place ruthless systems to squeeze out those who shouldn’t be with us.
“Most of our officers are fantastic, the people who specialised in this area are great and they have the skills. But do I have some officers who shouldn’t be in the Met that I’ve got to identify and get rid of? Yes I do, and I’m completely frank about that.”
Appearing on broadcast media for the UK government on Tuesday, education secretary, Gillian Keegan, said the police had “some work to do” in restoring trust.
Asked on Times Radio if the government could say that women could trust the police, she said: “It’s very important that we do trust the police. There’s no place in our police force for officers who fall seriously short of the standards required. It’s clear that action needs to be taken because it’s fundamental that we can trust our police.”
Compounding the errors of the police was the fact that Carrick was promoted in 2009 from patrolling the streets to being a member of an elite armed unit, the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command, guarding embassies, Downing Street and the Houses of Parliament.
It is believed that there are hundreds of other cases of scary offences committed by other officers that are yet to be revealed. The process of getting rid of all the terrible officers in the force may be the first stage in cleaning up its reputation and establishing a brand new set of recruits with clean records who are less likely to offend.
The sheer numbers of police officers who have offended in the past few years, exposes the poor judgement of employment decision makers when it comes to recruiting officers. Standards need to change, and so do wages to prevent a shortfall if officers begin to leave the force due to low morale or inadequate pay levels.
Met Commissioner Mark Rowley alongside the Home Office will need to work a lot harder to ensure greater accountability in the force and throw out all the dangerous officers in the police force.