Dozens of Met officers accused of drug offences
THE MAJORITY OF THE 87 FACING THE ALLEGATIONS HAVE KEPT THEIR JOBS
NEARLY 90 Met Police officers and staff members have been accused of drug offences over the past five years – and the majority of them have so far kept their jobs.
Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request show that 70 police officers and 17 members of Met Police staff have been accused of drug related offences between 2017-2022.
Of the 87 allegations, 22 have involved cannabis, while 19 involved cocaine and another 12 involved other Class As, which could include heroin and LSD.
Of the 41 allegations where a “case to answer” has been found (15 cases are pending), 37 have faced formal action or a referral to disciplinary proceedings.
Yet just six have been dismissed, while another nine would have been dismissed but quit.
It comes after a series of high profile cases among Met Police officers being accused of drug use.
In February, it emerged that a senior Metropolitan Police commander who wrote the force’s current drug strategy faced the sack after being accused of taking cannabis, LSD and magic mushrooms while on holiday in France.
Commander Julian Bennett had previously overseen the dismissal of two officers for drug misuse.
In January, a former Met Police officer avoided jail after hiding a ‘shoebox full of cash’ from her corrupt copper husband whilst their house was being raided by the police.
Shareen Kashif, 30, was also aware that her partner, PC Kashif Mahmood, was part of an organised crime group and had pretended to stop and search drug dealers as a ploy to steal their money.
He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in May 2021 after pleading guilty to conspiracy to acquire criminal property and misconduct in a public office.
In the same month, more than 130 arrests were made during a three-day Met Police operation targeting drug
crime on London’s roads and rail networks.
The force seized large quantities of cocaine and cannabis, with Chief Inspector Rob Ranstead saying “tackling violent crime and the supply of drugs” was “a top priority”.
Tony Devenish, Conservative AM and member of the London Assembly’s policing committee told this site: “As a member of the Police & Crime Committee I have long argued for a zero tolerance of drugs by the Met and the Mayor of London – these figures are a disgrace.”
A spokesperson for the Met Police said: “Of the 87 allegations, following a thorough and proportionate review/ investigation 41 cases were identified as a case to answer with 37 of these remitted to formal proceedings.
“Of these 37 cases, only 21 have been finalised and the outcome for the remaining 16 is awaited.
“Of the 21 finalised cases six were dismissed and nine would have been dismissed which equates to a rate of 74% of combined dismissals in this area.
“The difference between the outcomes of ‘dismissed’ and ‘would have been dismissed’ solely relates to whether or not the officer was still serving at the time of the hearing.
“Under current conduct regulations an officer can retire or resign whilst subject to proceedings.
“Where this is the case, the MPS can utilise Former Officer Conduct Regulations to ensure the officer is still held to account for their actions.”
They added: “The fact that the MPS continued proceedings for nine officers under these regulations demonstrates how seriously it views officers using/ possessing drugs.
“One of the key factors for utilising the Former Officer Conduct Regulations is that if the outcome of a misconduct hearing is that if the officer was still serving they ‘would have been dismissed’, they will be entered onto the Barred Register, held and administered by the College of Policing which will prevent them working in policing in the future.”