An internal review found London’s police force failed to carry out proper checks on thousands of officers, with dozens later committing crimes including rape.
LONDON: London’s police force failed to carry out proper checks when hiring thousands of officers, an internal review has found.
The government announced an inquiry into the Metropolitan Police’s vetting practices on Thursday.
Dozens of officers hired after checks were lowered went on to commit crimes or misconduct.
This included two officers later convicted as serial rapists, the review revealed.
Britain’s largest force blamed the lapses on pressure to meet recruitment targets between 2019 and 2023.
The force has been shaken by a string of scandals in recent years.
These include the convictions of several serving officers for sexual offences.
A landmark 2023 report found the Met was “institutionally” racist, sexist and homophobic.
David Carrick, jailed for life in 2023, was not properly vetted in 2017.
Checks failed to uncover a prior domestic abuse allegation against him.
Another officer, Cliff Mitchell, was allowed to join in 2020 after a panel overturned his rejection.
This occurred despite a previous allegation of raping a child, and Mitchell was later convicted of rape.
That vetting panel, now disbanded, overturned rejections for 114 people between 2019 and 2023.
Twenty-five of those individuals later committed misconduct or were accused of a crime.
“The policing inspectorate will carry out an urgent independent inspection into the Metropolitan Police’s recruitment and vetting standards,” the interior ministry said.
Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said abandoning checks was “a dereliction of the Met’s duty to keep London safe”.
Met Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said the report was part of a push for transparency.
She acknowledged past practices had in some cases led to “unsuitable people” joining the force.
