Two to three criminal cases against officers are expected to go to court every week in the coming months, the Met Police commissioner has revealed.
Sir Mark Rowley apologised to the victims of former officer David Carrick and said the public should “prepare for more painful stories as we confront cases that… corrupt our integrity”.
Speaking at a meeting of the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee, Sir Mark said the force had not “applied the same level of ruthlessness” to upholding its integrity as it applied to fighting crime.
He also said that the Met will “probably find many cases where we got it wrong” in their review of hundreds of officers historically accused of sexual offences and domestic abuse.
The criminal cases against officers due in court in the coming weeks are a “mix of dishonestly, violence and violence against women and girls”, Sir Mark said.
Referring to the “ghastly case” of Carrick, he said: “We’re all equally horrified we have hundreds in policing who shouldn’t be here, Carrick is an awful example of that.”
He offered “sincere apologies to victims for our failings, he should not have been a police officer – that’s obvious”.
Sir Mark also apologised to “women across London who feel let down and whose trust in policing has been let down”.
“We must improve dramatically for London. Lifting the stone and revealing painful truths will not be resolved overnight”.
“It will be painful. We need your support and the support of the people of London… as we rid the organisation of those who corrupt our integrity,” he said.
The Met recently started a review into hundreds of officers accused of sexual offences or domestic abuse after the Carrick cases, who remained in the force for 20 years despite investigations into at least nine incidents.
Sir Mark said he was “moving heaven and earth” to finish the review by March when its findings will be reported.
The commissioner also apologised for the Met’s failings in the case of PC Hussain Chehab, 22, who pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a girl aged 13 to 15 as well as three counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
PC Chehab’s case is one of several that have emerged in recent weeks which called the Met’s vetting and complaints processes into question.
