Forces told to check all officers against police database in wake of David Carrick case

Steve Hopkins

David Carrick is one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders

Forces have been asked to check all officers and staff against national police databases to “identify anyone who has slipped through the net” in the wake of the David Carrick rape case, the Home Office announce on Wednesday.

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) will ask forces to check current staff recruited before tougher vetting and the College of Policing will also be asked to strengthen vetting procedures.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman said in a statement: “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.”

The NPCC, who works with police forces on staffing, says the check will help identify “anyone who has slipped through the net”.

Carrick, who was sacked by the Met Police at a misconduct hearing held in his absence in west London on Tuesday, was identified as one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders after he pleaded guilty to dozens of rapes and sexual offences on Monday.

The 48-year-old former officer, known to his colleagues as “B*****d Dave”, attacked at least 12 women over an 18-year period throughout his career at the Met where his role included policing parliamentary, government and diplomatic premises.

Home Secretary @SuellaBraverman on steps moving forward from the David Carrick case and how we must ensure there are robust processes in place to stop the wrong people from joining the police in the first place. pic.twitter.com/NZi4Tan4hX

— Home Office (@ukhomeoffice) January 17, 2023

He faced 49 charges.

Meanwhile, London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said he will apply to the home secretary to strip Carrick of his £22,000-a-year police pension, something the government is said to support.

A spokesperson for the mayor said: “The mayor’s office for policing and crime will pursue pension forfeiture through an application to the home secretary as it is clear that PC Carrick committed offences in connection with his service as a member of a police force.”

The Home Office minister Robert Jenrick said the government supported Khan’s efforts.

Carrick was only suspended after being arrested following a second rape complaint in October 2021.

He was vetted by the Met in 2001 and again in 2017, and passed on both occasions.

The Met said Carrick’s pay was stopped and an accelerated misconduct process was launched after he first entered guilty pleas to 43 charges in December.

Met Police Assistant Commissioner describes David Carrick as 'a prolific serial sex offender who abused his position as a police officer.'

She adds: 'He's had a devastating impact on the trust of women and girls – that we are working so hard to earn'.https://t.co/UeOD6EDLu5 pic.twitter.com/BWVRxaM4GX

— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 16, 2023

Tuesday’s hearing was due to be held in private because Carrick still faced trial but was opened to the media after he entered guilty pleas at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.

Assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe said she was in no doubt Carrick’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and said he should be dismissed from the Met without notice.

Carrick’s offending included 24 rapes as well as charges of false imprisonment, indecent assault and possession of a firearm with intent to cause fear or violence.

Andrea Simon, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW), said the case showed the Met “is an institution in crisis.

“That Carrick’s horrific pattern of egregious behaviour was known to the Met, and they failed to take appropriate action, demonstrates just how broken the systems which are supposed to keep the public safe from perpetrators of rape and abuse are,” she said.

“These failings speak more loudly than any of the Met’s promises to tackle violence against women.

“We stand in solidarity with the victims and all survivors who may find the details of his abuse distressing and re-traumatising.

“This case is a horrendous example of police failures and their complete lack of oversight and accountability. The police are clearly incapable of identifying perpetrators in their midst, even when they exhibit textbook patterns of predatory behaviour.”