Met Police misconduct: 1000 sexual allegations to be investigated against officers

800 Met Police officers are being investigated, facing sexual and domestic abuse claims and other accusations of potential Met Police misconduct

Following the arrest and announcement of PC David Carrick, who pleaded guilty to 49 offences, including dozens of rapes, Met Police misconduct is being thoroughly investigated and checked with 45,000 Met officers and staff.

The Met has announced that a total of 1,633 cases of alleged sexual offences or domestic violence involving 1,071 officers and other staff are also being assessed from the last ten years to ensure suitable judgements were made.

A culture of corruption, racism, and misogyny

Despite the national shock of PC Carrick’s unveiled abuse, the Met Police has undergone an array of scandals that have eroded women’s trust in the force, such as the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, Wayne Couzens, in March 2021.

Another instance which eroded public trust in police due to racism and sexism is the case of Child Q, in which Four Metropolitan police officers are being investigated for gross misconduct after a 15-year-old black schoolgirl was strip-searched while at school for wrongly being suspected of carrying cannabis.

Another includes two other officers being jailed for taking and sharing photos of murdered sisters. A different serving officer was also convicted of being a member of a neo-Nazi group.

Despite having five public complaints to his name, David Carrick had passed checks to become a firearms officer

Despite having five public complaints to his name, David Carrick had passed checks to become a firearms officer when he transferred to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, and he was vetted again in 2017. This entails those above Carrick had not completed appropriate checks looking into potential Met Police misconduct.

Over 150 police officers from the UK’s biggest force are being prevented from holding public-facing roles because they are under investigation over allegations of sexual misconduct or racism.

The public’s trust in policing is “shattered”

A prime minister spokesman noted that high-profile cases such as Carrick’s had “shattered” the public’s trust in policing – adding to a list of controversies which carried through 2022.

The Met revealed the number of officers on restricted duties at the end of November arising from allegations of sexual misconduct stood at 118. The number of allegations of racism was 43.

More than 230 officers with sexual assault allegations

However, Scotland Yard released figures which also demonstrated results were awaited in the case of investigations underway into more than 230 officers over sexual assault allegations alone.

Results arose from probes, which were then launched into allegations, finding complaints of racism against 556 officers.