Every police force in England warned to root out sex offenders

Every police force in England is warned to root out sex offenders: Forces are told to check staff haven’t ‘slipped through the net’ in wake of Met’s David Carrick rape scandal

• Forces to be asked to check their officers against the national police databases
• National Police Chiefs’ Council wants to identify those who ‘slipped through net’ 
• David Carrick, 48, admitted to a total of 71 sexual offences, including 48 rapes 

Every police force in England has been urged to root out potential sex offenders among their ranks in the wake of the Metropolitan Police’s David Carrick rape scandal. 

Carrick, 48, who was known to colleagues as ‘B***ard Dave’, this week admitted to 80 sexual offences, including 48 rapes, while serving with the force between 2003 and 2020. 

The National Police Chiefs’ Council is now set to ask all forces to check their officers against national police databases to help identify anyone who has ‘slipped through the net’ before vetting standards were toughened.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has also asked the College of Policing to strengthen the statutory code of practice for police vetting, making the obligations all forces must legally follow stricter and clearer.

Pressure is mounting from MPs for a dedicated inquiry into how David Carrick (pictured) was allowed to act with impunity for almost 20 years 

The firearms officer took delight in humiliating his victims, whom he branded his ‘slaves’

In a statement, she said: ‘David Carrick’s sickening crimes are a stain on the police and he should never have been allowed to remain as an officer for so long.

‘We are taking immediate steps to ensure predatory individuals are not only rooted out of the force, but that vetting and standards are strengthened to ensure they cannot join the police in the first place.

‘Every day thousands of decent, hard-working police officers perform their duties with the utmost professionalism and I am sure they all share my disgust at his despicable betrayal of everything they stand for.’

Another watchdog review has been commissioned so His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) can check how forces have responded to its recent findings on vetting and corruption within the ranks to ‘make sure chief officers are taking the necessary action to remove those who are not fit to serve’.

The Home Office has also launched a review of the police disciplinary system to make sure officers who ‘are not fit to serve the public’ and ‘fall short of the high standards expected of them’ can be sacked.

Officials will examine decision making at misconduct hearings, and the panels tasked with leading them, as well as checking forces have the powers they need to take action against rogue officers. The review is expected to be completed within about four months.

More than 1,000 Metropolitan Police officers and staff who have previously been accused of domestic abuse or sexual offences are having their cases reviewed.

Ministers have backed efforts to strip the serial rapist of his police pension after his offending was described as one of the worst cases involving a serving police officer that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has dealt with.

The former armed officer, who previously served in the Army, faced complaints about his behaviour before he joined the Met in 2001, then again as a probationer in 2002 and several times throughout his policing career until 2021.

He met women on dating apps or while out socially, using his job to reassure and then intimidate them. He kept some locked in a tiny cupboard for hours, beat them and urinated on them.

But he was only suspended from duty in October 2021 when arrested for rape.

Asked by MPs how Carrick was allowed to serve as a police officer, HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke said: ‘I think it is quite clear that there have been significant failures throughout this.

‘The offences committed by this individual are absolutely despicable and no individual should be allowed anywhere near a police uniform who is that way inclined and policing needs to get better at rooting out these individuals earlier.’

Scotland police chief condemns ‘outrageous and despicable’ David Carrick, who admitted to dozens of sex crimes against women this week, including 48 rapes 

Scotland’s chief constable has condemned the actions of a Metropolitan Police officer who was revealed as one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.

Sir Iain Livingstone described the actions of Pc David Carrick as ‘absolutely outrageous and despicable conduct from an individual who should have never been in the police service’.

Carrick, 48, attacked at least a dozen women over an 18-year period throughout his career with the Met, using his position to gain their trust and scare them into staying silent.

Sir Iain, speaking after he was knighted at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Wednesday, said his officers and staff ‘really value our close relationship with the public of Scotland, we have a very close and genuine relationship’.

He added: ‘Police officers are drawn from the public, the public are the police and the police are the public and nowhere is that truer (than) in Scotland, but we need to earn that trust and that’s something we do every single day.’

His comments came as the force continues an attempted murder investigation after a police officer was hit by a car driven at them in the Scottish capital.

In addition, Police Scotland revealed that six of its officers were attacked in three separate incidents within 24 hours between January 12 and 13.

Sir Iain vowed those behind the attacks would be brought to justice.

‘Police officers come to work to serve the public, to do the right thing and to keep people safe, and any attack on a police officer, any attack on anybody who is serving the public, is utterly unacceptable, outrageous,’ he said.

‘We will investigate them thoroughly, we will bring offenders to justice and hold them to account.

‘The safety of officers and staff, the safety of people who serve the public, is of paramount importance.’

Steve Hartshorn, national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales which represents more than 130,000 rank-and-file officers, later told the Commons Home Affairs Committee ‘we are absolutely disgusted by what has happened’, adding that the organisation would be ‘pushing for the changes that are needed to try and get back the confidence that is so definitely needed’ from the public.

Asked what changes are needed, he said: ‘I think initially, you’ve got to look at leadership… there does need to be cultural change. There needs to be a proper victim-led approach so that when somebody comes forward… they are supported properly.’

Scotland’s chief constable Sir Iain Livingstone described the actions of Carrick as ‘absolutely outrageous and despicable conduct from an individual who should have never been in the police service’.

Sir Iain, speaking after he was knighted at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Wednesday, said his officers and staff ‘really value our close relationship with the public of Scotland, we have a very close and genuine relationship’.

He added: ‘Police officers are drawn from the public, the public are the police and the police are the public and nowhere is that truer (than) in Scotland, but we need to earn that trust and that’s something we do every single day.’

His comments came as the force continues an attempted murder investigation after a police officer was hit by a car driven at them in the Scottish capital.

In addition, Police Scotland revealed that six of its officers were attacked in three separate incidents within 24 hours between January 12 and 13.

Sir Iain vowed those behind the attacks would be brought to justice.

‘Police officers come to work to serve the public, to do the right thing and to keep people safe, and any attack on a police officer, any attack on anybody who is serving the public, is utterly unacceptable, outrageous,’ he said.

‘We will investigate them thoroughly, we will bring offenders to justice and hold them to account.

‘The safety of officers and staff, the safety of people who serve the public, is of paramount importance.’

It also emerged today that Carrick sent selfies posing with his gun to a random woman, it – as detectives began investigating claims he may have started his sex attacks as a teenager before he joined the force. 

A woman has now claimed Carrick, who is one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders, attacked her 30 years ago – a decade before he became a policeman, reports the Times. 

Authorities are encouraging any other potential victims to come forward, particularly since there is a six-year gap in his known offending – between 2009 and 2015 – in which they believe further, as-yet unrevealed crimes took place. 

There are also growing calls for the ex-officer to be stripped of his £22,000 state-funded pension. 

The selfies taken by Carrick showing off a firearm emerged after he sent them to a random woman who he had messaged by mistake in a ‘bizarre’ wrong number mix-up.

The images show Carrick grinning while staring into the camera below and holding the weapon with his right hand. 

The unnamed recipient said Carrick had sent her a message thinking she was another woman, but that when she informed him it was the wrong number, he sent her the pictures anyway and asked if he was her ‘type’. 

The woman branded the whole experience ‘bizarre’. 

Pressure is mounting from MPs for a dedicated inquiry into how Carrick was allowed to act with impunity for almost 20 years – despite being a suspect in a domestic incident a year before joining the Met and the subject of repeated complaints about predatory behaviour. 

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is also working to ensure Carrick does not receive his gold-plated pension, which analysts predict would see him earn around £22,000 a year when he turns 60. 

Fears that Carrick began attacking women in his teens would align with remarks from his own mother, who revealed yesterday how she reported her son following a ‘serious allegation’ in his formative years. 

Strip the rapist PC of his £22,000 pension: Mayor and Home Secretary in call for action as it’s revealed David Carrick could keep gold-plated pot 

David Carrick has admitted 49 charges against a dozen women, including 24 counts of rape

 

She said he had a ‘normal-ish’ childhood and did ‘fairly well’ at school, but that he would regularly bring home girlfriends, so often that ‘I didn’t bother asking about them in the end’.

Jean split with the officer’s father when he was a teenager and is now in a relationship with another man who has moved into the family home. 

Speaking from her house in Salisbury, she told The Guardian that she raised a concern about him when he was a teenager.

She said: ‘After that, he changed. He just sort of kept himself to himself and away from the family. And that’s when I had my two other children. 

‘I didn’t know this until recently, but my other son told me: ‘He’s a horrible man. He used to kick me on the back of the legs.”

Carrick joined the Army aged 19 before serving tours in Cyprus and the Falklands in 1996.

Jean added: ‘He always wanted to join the Army. I think he wanted to travel around. It could also be because he wanted to carry a weapon.’

Meanwhile, Carrick’s former school friend revealed how he ‘treated women like c**p’.

He told the newspaper: ‘When we were younger I thought he was a cool lad. A lot of people liked him. 

‘He was one of those lads who was good at everything. I think he had good grades and he was very much a sports person. 

‘He was very popular with the women; he was a good-looking lad, he was a fit lad.’

But the friend said he ‘quite quickly saw things I didn’t like’ shortly after Carrick bought a house in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in 2008.

He added: ‘He would use his being in the police and he would use his power to get his way. He would start arguments and then say he’s in the police and throw his weight around a little bit too much. 

‘So I used to say to him: ‘Look, Dave, you can’t be doing that, you’re a police officer.”

The friend also recalled at least three occasions in which Carrick flashed his warrant card to intimidate others.

It comes as shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper leads calls for a fresh inquiry into Carrick’s crimes and the missed opportunities to root him out – after it was revealed the Met will not be investigating officers who handled complaints against Carrick as they are all retired. 

The police watchdog IOPC said yesterday: ‘We also received information from the MPS [Metropolitan police service], identified in its review, relating to three other incidents in 2004, 2019 and 2021, involving allegations against Carrick. 

‘From the information we’ve been provided with so far, we have had no cause to consider using our power of initiative to call these matters in.’

But Labour MP Harriet Harman told the Commons yesterday that those in management who allowed Carrick to climb the ranks and become an armed officer needed to face disciplinary action. 

She said: ‘It is about those individuals who are in senior and management positions in the Met who seemed to think that it was all right for Carrick to be given extra responsibilities and promoted, and we need transparency about that.’ 

Serial rapist cop bragged to an ex-lover he was ‘untouchable’ due to his job, leaving him free to commit sex attacks – as it emerges more than 1,000 Met officers and staff are being probed over abuse claims 

Carrick, pictured here at the beach, abused and tortured women at his Hertfordshire home

Ms Harman was backed by Tory MPs, including Lee Anderson, Philip Hollobone and James Daly. 

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has insisted any probe into Carrick will fall under the pre-existing Angiolini Inquiry, which is investigating how PC Wayne Couzens was able to abduct, rape and murder Sarah Everard. 

She also said a review would aim to make it easier to fire police officers involved in wrongdoing more rapidly. 

Ms Braverman added: ‘It’s now for the Metropolitan police to demonstrate that they have an effective plan in place to rapidly improve their vetting processes.’ 

But Ms Cooper branded Ms Braverman’s response as ‘weak’. 

She said: ‘Given the scale of the problems, not just in this case but in previous cases as well, her statement is very weak and it shows a serious lack of leadership on something that is so grave and affects confidence in policing as well as serious crimes.’

Labour MP Diana Johnson, the chair of the home affairs select committee, said: ‘The Carrick case is yet another appalling example of systemic failures within the police to confront male violence against women and the sexist culture that fosters it. In short, we are witnessing the consequences of institutionalised sexism.’ 

Meanwhile former victims’ commissioner Dame Vera Baird told the BBC: ‘The Metropolitan police seem incapable of not employing – and furthermore retaining – some quite evil people.

‘He appears to have been reassessed since the murder of Sarah Everard, since the Charing Cross misogyny scandal came out. 

‘Where exactly is the change in culture that we have all been told would occur after that catastrophic death now a couple of years ago?’      

 Carrick used his warrant card to make women feel they were safe with him. 

It means that although he was off duty when he committed his crimes, it could be argued that they are still linked to his job as a police officer. 

For this reason London Mayor Sadiq Khan hopes Carrick will be prevented from getting at least a large part of his pension, as officers can be stripped of 65 per cent of them if their crimes can be linked to their work.

As an elite parliamentary protection officer, Carrick will have likely been on a salary of £43,000. Alongside the Met’s gold-plated pension scheme, he would get £22,000 per year from the age of 60, according to wealth management firm Quilter. 

However Scotland Yard said Home Office rules made it unlikely that he could be stripped of his gold-plated, final-salary pension.

Detective Chief Inspector Iain Moor from the Bedfordshire, Cambridge and Hertfordshire major crime unit (2nd right) and Jaswant Narwal Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS Thames and Chiltern (right) speaking to the media outside Southwark Crown Court

Despite this, Mr Khan is pursuing a forfeiture action, backed by Ms Braverman.

Home Office guidelines state that ‘forfeiture’ applications to remove a police pension can be made when an officer has been convicted of a criminal offence committed in connection with their service which leads to a serious loss of confidence in policing. 

Home Office minister Robert Jenrick backed the move today, arguing it was clear Carrick’s offending was linked to his position in the capital’s police force.

Mr Jenrick told Sky News: ‘The forfeiture of the pension is a matter for the Mayor of London but we support his efforts to remove that pension, if indeed that is what he chooses to do.

‘This is one of the most egregious cases of police misconduct in the history of the Met, perhaps in the history of British policing. This disgusting individual should not benefit from his years serving in the Metropolitan Police.’

He later went further to say he and the Home Secretary ‘do not expect David Carrick to receive his pension’.

‘There are very strong arguments for doing so as although some of this activity may have occurred outside of David Carrick’s exact role, it was linked to it,’ Mr Jenrick told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

Former home secretary Priti Patel said Khan and Ms Braverman should do everything possible to deny Carrick his entire pension.

‘If he left prison with a pension pot of hundreds of thousands, with the majority coming from his employer, that would be ludicrous and unjustifiable,’ she said.

Former victims commissioner Dame Vera added: ‘There should be some room for sensible discretion here because in instances like this of course it would be appropriate to take a pension pot away from such a serious offender. What does it matter if he was on duty or not? I hope his victims will be compensated without having to go to court.’

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