The police in London intensify their drive against rogue officers

• Aparna Sreevalsan
• 10 April, 2023

 

• Seventy per cent increase in dismissals in the past six months, 51, up from 30, compared with the same period before.
• Near doubling – 95 per cent increase – of misconduct cases completed.
• Number of suspensions for officers subject to the most serious allegations more than doubles.
• First 30 officers referred for potential dismissal using new vetting review process likely to examine more than 100 cases.

 

DOZENS of unprofessional and unsuitable police officers have been sacked from the Met police.

Comparing the last six months to the prior period, there has been a 95 per cent rise in completed investigations and a 70 per cent increase in the number of officers discharged, totalling 84 and 51 respectively.

There has been a 109 per cent increase in the number of officers suspended in relation to new and historic investigations, with 144 officers currently suspended, up from 69 at the end of September 2022.

Forty-four cases are currently being handled on an expedited basis, compared to 22 in the previous six months.

The Met Police said it is also reviewing earlier misconduct cases to win back the public’s trust and improve its reputation following a string of scandals.

Sir Mark Rowley, the new chief of Met, who came over in last September has pledged to weed out the force of unsuitable individuals among its more than 43,000 officers and staff.

As the emphasis on delivering greater standards continues, Commissioner Rowley has congratulated most officers and employees who have joined the fight to rebuild trust and confidence in the Met.

“I said we were serious about this, and I meant it. This is the strongest doubling down on standards in the Met for 50 years,” Rowley said in a statement.

In the last six months, calls to the Met’s designated internal hotline expressing concerns about the integrity and behaviour of officers have more than quadrupled, with 14 reports each week compared to an average of six before.

According to the most recent update from the Met, about 200 cases had been identified where officers and staff required immediate risk assessments or vetting checks, and nearly 700 completed investigations may have new or missed possibilities of inquiry.

The vetting of serving cops is still being evaluated, and all employees are being verified against the Police National Computer (PNC), which keeps track of convictions.

The conviction of one cop for several rapes and the life sentence of another for kidnapping and killing a lady as she walked home were two of the most terrible instances.

“On far too many occasions dating back 10 years, opportunities may have been missed or decisions have been taken that have left those who corrupt our integrity free to remain in policing,” Rowley said.

Operation Onyx was launched following the horrifying case of an officer, who over the course of 17 years while working as a Met police raped and sexually abused 12 women.

Operation Onyx comprised a detailed examination of all finished sexual offence or domestic abuse cases from the previous ten years involving serving officers or personnel where the accusation did not result in dismissal at the time.

By the end of March, the Onyx team had determined that 196 officers and employees needed risk assessments or vetting reviews.

More investigation will be conducted on 689 additional cases to see if any new or overlooked lines of inquiry need to be explored.

The Metropolitan Police was found to be institutionally racist, sexist, and homophobic as well as incapable of self-policing by an independent study last month. The largest police force in Britain, the Met, was called for urgent change in the evaluation.