A shocking review has exposed catastrophic failures in the vetting procedures of the Metropolitan Police, Britain's largest police force. The investigation found that more than 130 officers and staff, including two of the UK's most notorious serial rapists, were able to commit crimes or misconduct because they were not properly checked.
Rapists Exploited Systemic Vetting Failures
The report, which examined the decade up to March 2023, identified 131 cases where inadequate checks allowed individuals to cause harm. Among them were David Carrick, sentenced to 37 life terms for a horrific campaign of sexual abuse, and Cliff Mitchell, who carried out a 'campaign of rape' over nine years.
Carrick was not properly vetted in 2017, with checks failing to uncover a prior allegation of domestic abuse. In a staggering decision, a vetting panel in 2020 overturned a rejection for Mitchell, allowing him to join despite a previous accusation of raping a child.
Pressure to Recruit Led to Dangerous Shortcuts
The review found that during a major recruitment drive from July 2019 to March 2023, senior Met leaders chose to abandon national guidelines under pressure to hire 4,557 officers in three and a half years. This led to thousands of officers and staff not being properly vetted.
In total, 5,073 officers and staff were not properly vetted. The 'deviations' from standard practice included:
- Automatically transferring officers without renewing their vetting.
- Not checking former military personnel against Ministry of Defence records.
- Failing to conduct research against Special Branch or counter-terrorism indices.
- Allowing new recruits to join before receiving national security clearance.
The Met estimates that if proper reference checks had been conducted, around 250 individuals would not have been given a job.
Damning Verdict and Calls for Change
Nahar Choudhury, Chief Executive of London's largest domestic abuse charity Solace, stated the failures had left women to pay the price. "The fact that David Carrick and Cliff Mitchell were placed in positions of power that enabled them to rape women shows that while individuals choose to carry out sexual violence, the Met has systemically enabled them to do so," she said.
In response to the report, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood called the abandonment of checks "a dereliction of the Met’s duty" and has ordered an inspection by the police watchdog. His Majesty’s Inspectorate will also examine whether other forces in England and Wales deviated from standards.
The Met says it has taken action, with 1,500 officers sacked since Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley took over in September 2022. Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said the force was being open about past practices that "led, in some cases, to unsuitable people joining the Met."
