By Tony O’Reilly-
Britain’s biggest and most controversial police force has moved officers from tackling serious and organised crime and counter-terrorism to internal standards to help clean-up its workforce.
The Metropolitan Police – branded institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynist in a major review – has lurched between a series of scandals in recent years, including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and ex-Pc David Carrick being unmasked as a serial abuser and rapist.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who began the job in September, has expressed a stern determination to root out hundreds of corrupt officers serving in the force who should not be in the job.
Sir Mark Rowley, who had refused to explicitly accept the verdict of institutional racism in the force, has been in no denial that the level of disgracefully behaved cops is at an embarrassing high, and in need of a a major shake up to restore the trust of the British public.
In order to avoid the possible fate that befell his predecessor , Cressica Dick- forced to resign last year following the murder of Sarah Everard by evil cop Wayne Couzens, the Met Commissioner has embarked on a so far highly welcome transformational scheme to drastically improve the image of the police force.
He said about 90 officers had been moved away from fighting serious and organised crime to the Met’s professional standards team.
He added there were hundreds of officers in the force “who shouldn’t be here”, a reality this publication has for a while asked his representatives to urgently address. The public outcry for urgent change has also prompted his move.
The move for a much needed shake up comes after the force was branded as institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynistic in a damning report.
In an open letter to the Mayor of London and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Sir Mark said officers had been diverted to the force’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS).
“Not only have we increased our DPS by 150 people, but the scale and urgency of this work has meant diverting officers from other missions such as serious and organised crime and counter-terrorism,” he wrote.
“Over the last three months we have had, on average, 90 additional officers and staff from these areas supporting DPS.” Many had volunteered, he added.
The letter updated the Met’s efforts to eradicate rogue officers. Vetting rules have been intensified, with anestimated 100 officers will have their status reviewed and “may well end up leaving the organisation”, Sir Mark told BBC News.
He said it was the first step in “the biggest drive on professional standards in the Metropolitan Police in 50 years”.
“We have hundreds of people who shouldn’t be here and the tens of thousands of good men and women here are as embarrassed and angered by that as anybody, and they’re helping us sort them out,” he added.
It follows the murder of Sarah Everard by Met Police officer Wayne Couzens and the jailing of serial rapist and disgraced officer David Carrick.
‘Boys’ club’
Last month, a major review by Baroness Louise Casey branded the Met institutionally sexist, racist and homophobic, highlighting a “boys’ club” culture.
Sir Mark Rowley, shortly after revealed there would be a weekly revelation of multiple criminal cases before the courts of officers charged with rape, sexual abuse, and a wide range of criminal offences, many of which has been witnessed since his announcement.
In January, after Carrick’s guilty plea, the Met announced plans to recheck more than 1,000 investigations into officers and other staff accused of domestic abuse and sexual violence in the 10 years to April 2022.
In the letter, Sir Mark says about four in five of the original inquiries did not result in the correct action and should be reassessed.
Of 1,131 individuals reinvestigated 246 will face no formal action because correct action was taken at the time 689 will undergo a new assessment to pursue new or missed lines of inquiry, including possibly talking again to victims and witnesses.
It revealed that 196 face formal risk management measures and potentially a review to determine if they should remain in the force.
All of these cases will be reassessed by an independent panel of experts, the letter said.
Sir Mark Rowley said the immediate measures are part of enforcement action to remove those who undermine the culture of the force, with longer term plans including leadership training and better support for frontline officers designed to address wider cultural problems.
“The most urgent thing is to, if you like, remove the cancer from the body and that’s what this is about, that first step,” he said.
More than 1,000 records where officers and staff were accused of domestic violence or sexual offences in the past 10 years have now been checked to make sure the right decision was taken.
Sir Mark said that of the 1,131 individuals whose cases were reviewed, 246 will see no further action; 689 will have their case reassessed; and 196 will be referred into formal risk management measures and may have their vetting status reviewed.
Each of the cases will also be reviewed by an external panel.
Sir Mark said he is considering tightening the rules around officers and staff with criminal convictions, to ban anyone prosecuted for anything other than “the most trivial matters” or offences committed under the age of 18.
A total of 161 Met officers have criminal convictions, 76 for serious traffic offences including drink driving and careless driving.
Another 49 officers have convictions for crimes of dishonesty or violence – eight of whom committed the offences while they were police officers and remain serving with the force.
All 50,000 employees of the Met are also being checked against the police national database, which is used for intelligence.
So far of the 10,000 records that have been checked, 38 cases of potential misconduct have been uncovered and 55 where there is an off-duty association with a criminal.
The remainder of the records are due to have been checked by the summer.
Vetting rules have already been toughened up with officers and staff being re-vetted if their behaviour is of concern, for example following a criminal investigation or misconduct hearing where they stay in the job.
The Commissioner also revealed that there have been 1,000 calls to a hotline allowing the public to report Met officers abusing their positions of trust, resulting in 350 reports that are being responded to, and have already led to officers being arrested and suspended from duty.
Under the Met Commissioner’s new scheme, public confidence is expected to gradually return to normal as the evidence of the sweeping changes he promised is witnessed.