Former officer David Carrick facing sentencing for multiple sex attacks

The 47-year-old has admitted 49 offences, including 24 counts of rape, after carrying out sex attacks on a dozen women over an 17-year period (see https://www.policeprofessional.com/news/mps-condemns-officer-guilty-of-relentless-campaign-of-sexually-and-mentally-abusing-women/).

The Crown Prosecution Service described the case as “one of the most shocking” it has dealt with involving a serving police officer.

Carrick, who has been remanded in custody for today’s sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court, was officially dismissed from the force at a disciplinary hearing held last month.

Ahead of the sentencing of Carrick, Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray, the MPS’s lead for professionalism, said: “It is nearly three weeks since David Carrick entered the last of his guilty pleas. In doing so, he admitted to the most appalling offences against women.

“Today, he will be in court for the first day of a two-day sentencing hearing.

“More detail will be provided about the cruel and abusive nature of his crimes and about the impact they have had on the tremendously brave women who came forward to provide evidence against him.

“I am truly sorry for the harm and devastation he has caused them. We let them down and we failed to identify a man in the ranks of the MPS who carried out the most awful offences.

“He should not have been a police officer.”

She added: “In the weeks since he pleaded guilty, we have spoken about our genuine and urgent commitment to address the systemic failings that have been identified by our own reviews, by those of His Majesty’s Inspectorate and Baroness Casey.

“We are determined to root out those who corrupt our integrity.

“That work is already under way.

“In the coming weeks we will be speaking in more detail about the important progress we have already made and what our next steps will be.

“The next two days, however, are about the victims.

“They have shown such courage in speaking out.

“They truly deserve to have their voices heard and see justice done.”

She said Commissioner Sit Mark Rowley has set out his commitment to delivering the high standards that will allow Londoners to once again have trust in their police service.

A number of key pieces of work are already under way to deliver that vital objective.

The MPS has invested millions of pounds and increased the resources in the Directorate of Professional Standards by a third, bringing in additional officers and staff with specialist skills and experience to identify and investigate wrongdoing, said Ms Gray.

A dedicated Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offending investigation team has been set up with more han 50 experienced investigators targeting any officer or staff member who may be engaged in domestic abuse or sexual offences.

And a new Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command is proactively investigating and identifying officers and staff who abuse their positions of trust whether on duty or off duty, in person or online.

There has also been significant investment in intelligence capabilities and in the skills of specialist investigators.

“A thorough audit of national police systems – specifically the Police National Computer and Police National Database – is being undertaken to identify intelligence and information about officers and staff that may not be known by the organisation,” said the MPS.

“Project Onyx is reviewing all closed cases from the past decade where officers and staff were reported to the Directorate of Professional Standards for involvement in incidents ranging from the use of inappropriate language in the workplace right up to allegations of the most serious sexual offending.

“Whilst we would expect the majority of cases to have been dealt with appropriately, we know that we have previously failed to identify patterns of behaviour and consider prior offending or incidents.”

The force said an internal appeal is asking officers and staff to report corruption and abuse, and an anti-corruption and abuse hotline has been launched, in partnership with Crimestoppers, where the public can anonymously report MPS officers and staff who abuse their positions of power and trust.

“We recognise the important input that those outside the Met can have on shaping and scrutinising this work,” said the force. “We are committed to involving external stakeholders, including those from the violence against women and girls sector, and discussions are under way to put the right mechanisms in place.”

The National Police Chiefs’ Council has told all police forces to complete checks on their officers and staff against the national police database by March 31.

It said by September, police forces should have identified all cases for further investigation, and these will be prioritised based on the threat and risk.