Hundreds of serving police officers should be booted out for criminal behaviour, Met boss says
17 October 2022, 00:00 | Updated: 17 October 2022, 00:23
The Casey Report into Met Police misconduct has condemned hundreds of officers' behaviour - and the Met's systems of redress
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A review of Metropolitan Police conduct and its systems for dealing with misbehaviour has been condemned in an explosive new report.
Baroness Casey's report into the Met, which was prompted by the murder of Sarah Everard, outlines the inadequacy of investigation and punishment powers in the London police.
The Casey Report also found that there is a "racial disparity" throughout the misconduct system, with lower ethical standards for white officers than their BAME counterparts.
Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the problems it exposes are "appalling" - and that hundreds of officers should be sacked immediately.
Sir Mark writes in his letter: "I agree we need to be quicker and more decisive in how we use existing police regulations to remove - at the earliest possible stage - those who should not be in policing."
He also told journalists: "We currently sack a bit less than one person a week – that’s clearly massively under engineered. There must be hundreds who shouldn’t be here. Sorry I can’t be more specific."
Sir Mark also wrote to Baroness Casey: "I am appalled by the extent of the findings you expose.
"You uncover painful experiences from those within our ranks who have suffered discrimination and hate from colleagues, only to have their suffering compounded by a weak response from the [Met]. This cannot continue.
"I am sorry to those we have let down."
He insisted the Met will fully accept the report's proposals for a stronger system to deal with misconduct claims.
That includes making it easier to sack police officers who misbehave.
One inspector told Baroness Casey: "We don’t want this behaviour in the Met.
"If we worked for Tesco, we’d be able to sack someone for less."
One in five officers in the internal misconduct system have been involved in two or more cases but the way the system is set up means each is looked at individually.
Everard's killer, Wayne Couzens, used a warrant card and handcuffs to make a false arrest on his victim.
He had been accused of exposing himself at a restaurant months beforehand, but these claims were not adequately acted upon, the Casey Report adds.
