Metropolitan Police operation to weed out unsuitable officers could see nearly 200 people sacked | UK News

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Nearly 100 Metropolitan Police officers from crime squads – and priorities such as combating organized crime and terrorism – have been transferred to internal standards to help root out colleagues deemed unfit to be on the force.

By Faye Brown, Political Correspondent @fayebrownSky

Thursday, April 6, 2023 01:48, United Kingdom

Nearly 200 Metropolitan Police officers and staff who have been charged with domestic violence or sexual offenses within the past 10 years could face dismissal.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who began working in September, believes there are hundreds of corrupt officers serving in the force who should not be there.

In an update to Home Secretary Soella Braverman and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in a letter about the reviews in the force, he said more than 1,000 records where officers and staff were accused of domestic violence or sexual offenses in the past 10 years to April 2022 had already been re-examined. to make sure you make the right decision.

Of those, 246 will see no further action, and 689 will reassess their case.

Meanwhile, 196 will be referred to formal risk management procedures and screening status may be reviewed to determine whether they should remain at the Met, the letter said.

Each case will also be reviewed by an external committee.

The Met — which has been described as institutionally racist, homophobic, and misogynistic in a major review — has swung through a series of scandals in recent years, including the murder of Sarah Everard by current officer and former PC David Carrick who was exposed as a serial offender and rapist.

More on Baroness Casey’s Metropolitan Police: ‘Systemic’ discrimination in the Metropolitan Police

The letter also revealed that nearly 100 Metropolitan Police officers from crime squads have been transferred to internal standards in a bid to root out colleagues deemed unfit for the job.

“Not only have we increased our DPS by 150 people, but the scale and urgency of this work means that officers are diverted from other tasks such as serious organized crime and counter-terrorism,” the commissioner said.

“Over the past three months, we have had, on average, 90 additional officers and staff from these areas support DPS.

“Co-Design was born out of a surplus of volunteers.

“We have taken this decision because we cannot succeed in any police mission unless we resolve these issues as urgently as possible,” he added.

Sir Mark said this would be in line with long-term plans including leadership training to address wider cultural problems.

“The most immediate thing is to remove the cancer from the body, and that’s what it’s about, that first step,” he said.

Scandal Series in Meat Police

Baroness Casey’s report, released last month, listed a series of scandals that “damaged the Met’s reputation and called into question its culture and standards”. Among them were:

• Kidnapping, Rape, and Murder of Sarah Everard by Serving Officer MIT Wayne Cousins ​​March 2021

• The Met handled a public vigil after the murder of Mrs. Everard

Independent report – published June 2021 – on the 1987 ax murder of Daniel Morgan, which finds institutional corruption at the Met

• A December 2021 investigation into victims of serial killer Stephen Port found that material failures by the Met’s staff “may” have contributed to three of the four deaths

Two “dead” officers jailed in December 2021 for taking and sharing photos of two murdered women, Papa Henry and Nicole Smallman

• A police watch report in February last year identified misogyny, harassment and bullying – including racist, sexist and homophobic messages – among officers resident at Charing Cross police station between 2016 and 2018

• Child Protection March 2022 report which revealed a 15-year-old black girl was searched by police after they were wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis

• Jailed police officer David Carrick in February charged 49 counts – including 24 counts of rape – against 12 women.

Tighten the rules

Sir Mark is also considering tightening rules around officers and servants with criminal convictions, to ban anyone being prosecuted for anything other than the “most trivial matters” or offenses committed under the age of 18.

The letter revealed that 161 Michigan officers had criminal convictions — 76 for serious traffic violations and 49 for breach of trust or violence.

Other offenses include drug possession, criminal damage, and public order offences, and three serving officers were convicted of sexual offenses.

Sir Mark said this was cause for “uncomfortable reading” and his standards unit would examine each case to assess whether restrictions needed to be placed on these officers or whether they should be re-examined.

Other actions include screening all of the Met’s 50,000 employees against the police’s national database — a process that has so far identified 38 cases of potential misconduct and 55 cases of association with an off-duty criminal.

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The vetting rules have already been tightened with officers and staff being re-examined if their behavior is of concern.

The letter also revealed that a public hotline that allows members to report Met police officers who abuse their trust has resulted in 350 reports being answered, as well as some officers being arrested and suspended.

Ms Braverman said: “The Met plays a unique role in keeping millions of Londoners safe and protecting the country from terrorism, so it is vital that the public has confidence in the force to carry out these duties with the utmost professionalism.

“I have been clear that a relentless focus on improving standards and rational policing is required.

“Sir Mark’s update on the work to root out unsuitable officers shows the scale of this challenge, but I trust his plan to get around the Met and make sure the force delivers to the public.

“I am also moving forward work to review the police dismissal process to ensure the system is effective in removing officers who fall below the standards we expect.”

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