All of the feeble excuses the Met police has made for having serial rapist David Carrick in its ranks

‘I can’t promise women reporting crimes won’t be speaking to a sex offender officer’

1 year ago

The Met Police has finally sacked serial rapist and police officer David Carrick. But the action is years too late. Carrick was able to carry out 80 sex offences, including 48 rapes, while serving as a police officer over the last two decades— making him one of Britain’s worst sex offenders. And, sickeningly, his crimes could have been prevented. 14 complaints were made to the police about Carrick: nine to the Met about sexual violence; five others involving excessive violence and abusive language. Nothing was done. The first allegations about him were made in 2000— a year before he became a police officer.

Fundamentally, the lack of action from the police force has facilitated one of the worst sex offenders of modern history. Carrick used his position as a police officer to convince women nobody would believe them if they reported the assault. He showed one woman his warrant card to make her feel safe before attacking her in September 2020. “I can kill you without leaving any evidence because I work in the police,” he said. “I am a powerful man. Look at the kind of job I do.”

David Carrick should never have been a police officer. He passed the vetting process in 2001, despite allegations of burglary and malicious communications to a woman who he’d recently had a relationship with. There were nine separate police investigations into his behaviour. But the victims, many anxious and traumatised, didn’t want to put themselves through a court case— and the police failed to put the dots together for themselves.

“We have failed. And I’m sorry,” was the feeble apology made by Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley yesterday. “He should not have been a police officer. We failed as investigators where we should have been more intrusive and joined the dots on this repeated misogyny over a couple of decades.”

David Carrick committed 80 sex offences, including 48 rapes, while serving as a police officer over the last two decades (Credit: Facebook)

Terrifyingly, David Carrick is far from the only predator in the police. Sarah Everard’s killer, Wayne Couzens, used his position of power to “arrest”, rape, and murder her. In November, a report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that the police vetting process has allowed numerous other sexual offenders to become new police candidates and permanent officers. Currently, 800 officers are now under investigation over abuse claims.

David Carrick and other predators like him who are employed as police officers are part of a wider system that allows aggressive and sexually violent men to be placed in positions of power. After Sarah’s death, half of the women in the UK (47%) said they had lost trust in the police, according to a YouGov poll. Unless there’s radical reform, this number will continue to plummet.

Met commissioner Sir Mark has already admitted that, as things stand, he can’t guarantee to women that the police officers they’re asking for help aren’t sex offenders. “I’m not going to make a promise that I can’t stick to,” he admitted on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. “I’m going to put in place ruthless systems to squeeze out those who should not be with us…I have some officers who should not be in the Met that I have got to identify and get rid of, yes I do and I’m completely frank about that.”

“There’s never been a deliberate decision to get this wrong, of course,” he added. “But it hasn’t been the highest priority.”

Sir Mark might be sorry for prolific police violence against women. He might even sincerely want to do something about it. But the changes, actions, and investigations he proposes are going to take time to cause any sort of seismic shift and consequently offer very little by way of reassurance in the meantime.

“For too long, we have heard that things will change, that lessons are being learned, that mistakes will not be allowed to happen again,” said domestic abuse charity Refuge. “What has to happen before crimes against women and girls are taken seriously?”