Figures published over the weekend reveal that at least 26 serving Metropolitan Police officers have committed sex crimes in the last five years.
The information, which was first published by the Sunday Mirror, comes just days after former PC Wayne Couzens was handed a whole-life sentence for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March this year.
Details of the crimes came to light via the Freedom of Information Act, and included rape, possession of indecent images of children and voyeurism. The report detailed how two officers were convicted in April of this year, just a month after Sarah's murder. 58-year-old Detective Constable Mark Collins was jailed for 26 months for sending "highly sexualised" messages to a child, who was in fact an undercover officer. In the same month, 60-year-old Detective Constable Paul Allgood was jailed for 22 months for possessing indecent images of children.
The Mirror also revealed that one officer was recruited last year despite having a conviction for indecent exposure. And, on Saturday (2 October), another police officer was arrested on suspicion of rape. 46-year-old PC David Carrick, from Stevenage, was subsequently suspended from the force. According to the BBC, Carrick served on the same unit as Couzens, but was off-duty at the time of the alleged offence on 4 September last year. Carrick's barrister told a Magistrate's court hearing that his client "emphatically denies the allegations."
Earlier this year, Cosmopolitan UK reported that despite 87% of readers admitting they'd experienced sexual harassment, only 8.5% of those had actually reported sexual harassment to the police. And worse - of those who had, only 4.5% have ever seen any kind of punishment as a result.
On top of that, Victims’ Commissioner, Dame Vera Baird QC, highlighted that just 14% of rape victims believed they would receive justice by reporting the crime to the police. These figures, combined with the increasing stories of sexual misconduct within the police force, only enforce the idea that the justice system needs to change. And it needs to change fast.
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Speaking to the Mirror, former detective and child abuse whistleblower, Maggie Oliver, said: "The police service is no longer fit for purpose. I don’t think it’s ever appropriate for a force to employ an officer with a criminal record. It’s just something that should not happen."
Similarly, Parm Sandhu, an ex-chief superintendent at the Metropolitan Police, emphasised that urgent action is required if the public's confidence in the police is to be restored. Talking to Sky News' Trevor Phillips on Sunday (3 October), Sandhu said: "Every person [who works in policing] should be re-vetted and reassessed as to whether or not they are safe to be working with members of the community and members of the public."
She continued, "It needs to be done now as an urgent measure to reassure the public and rebuild the trust and confidence that policing has lost, but it needs to be done on a regular basis so that we don’t have anybody that even comes close to the actions of Wayne Couzens."
If you're affected by any of the issues raised in this story, reach out to Victim Support for guidance. If your mental health is suffering as a result of sexual harassment, contact Mind for support.
