Shame of the Met’s 16 crooks in uniform

Grim roll call of convictions since Sarah Everard killing

AT least 16 Metropolitan Police officers have been convicted of crimes since the murder of Sarah Everard.

The vast majority were for sexual offences or violence against women.

Miss Everard, 33, was kidnapped and killed by a serving Met officer in a case that sparked national outrage and triggered calls for more action to tackle violence against women.

But there were fresh questions about how many criminals in uniform are hiding in the Met’s ranks after a serial rapist policeman pleaded guilty last week to 49 charges against a dozen women. PC David Carrick used his status as a police officer to continue offending until October 2021, when a victim came forward to report him.

A total of at least 16 Scotland Yard officers have been convicted of a range of offences since Miss Everard was murdered in March 2021.

Twelve committed sexual offences or violence against women. They include Det Con Mark Collins, 58, caught in an undercover sting after sending highly sexualised messages to an officer posing as a 13-year- old girl. He pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and was jailed for two years and four months.

The Home Office has ordered every police force in England and Wales to

‘Make the police sit up and act in future’

check all their officers against national databases by the end of March.

One of Carrick’s victims is planning to sue the Met for damages after Scotland Yard failed to stop him on nine separate occasions. The mother of two, who was in a relationship with Carrick for three years, was sexually abused by him after they met on Tinder in 2017.

She told how he became violent on their first date by grabbing her by the neck, forced her to take part in bondage sessions and choked her. He also ordered her to clean his house naked and sexually assaulted her.

The woman, who cannot be identified, said: ‘The police knew what he was like. They didn’t investigate properly. Nothing will change what happened to me... but I want to take legal action because maybe that will make the police sit up and act in future.’

Met chief Mark Rowley has admitted his force ‘let women and girls down’ after Carrick had been reported for crimes nine times since 2000 but still kept his job as an armed officer.

Experts say Carrick’s victims could get tens of thousands of pounds in compensation. The woman planning to sue, who lives in Hertfordshire, told the Sunday Mirror: ‘He told me he was a police officer. I thought he must be someone I could trust.’