London
CNN
,
A serving officer of London’s Metropolitan Police has admitted to 49 offenses including 24 counts of rape over an 18-year period, rekindling calls for urgent reform of the United Kingdom’s largest police force.
David Carrick pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court in the British capital on Monday to four counts of rape, false imprisonment and indecent assault relating to a 40-year-old woman in 2003, UK’s PA media news agency reported.
According to the PA, last month at the Old Bailey Criminal Court in London, Carrick admitted 43 charges against 11 other women, including 20 counts of rape between March 2004 and September 2020.
a Recent series of scams UK police watchdog highlights a culture of misogyny and racism in London’s police service.
In September 2021, Metropolitan Police Officer Wayne Couzens She was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the kidnapping, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, a case that horrified the nation and sparked debate about violence against women.
Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Cressida Dick resigned from his position In 2022, following a rigorous review by the independent Office for Police Conduct, 15 recommendations were issued “to transform police practice” in the country.
The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Carrick’s case was “one of the most shocking” it had ever seen.
CPS Chief Crown Jaswant Narwal said, “The way Carrick gunned down his victims is unlike anything he has seen in his 34 years with the Crown Prosecution Service.”
Speaking outside Southwark Crown Court on Monday, Narwal said: “I commend each and every woman who courageously shared their painful experience and enabled us to bring this case to court and serve justice.”
The senior investigating officer in the case, Detective Chief Inspector Ian Moore, called Carrick’s crimes “truly shocking”.
“The police service is committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls,” Moore said. “I hope that victims and the public more broadly are reassured that no one is above the law and that the police service will relentlessly pursue criminals who target women in this way.”
Barbara Gray, assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, also apologized to all victims on behalf of the police force.
Speaking to a reporter on Monday, Gray said Carrick “should have been fired from the police service a long time ago.”
In a separate statement on Monday, she said: “We should have looked at the pattern of his abusive behavior and because we didn’t, we lost opportunities to remove him from the organisation. We are truly sorry that Carrick has brought suffering to his victims.” Tall was able to continue using his role as a police officer.
“The duration and nature of Carrick’s humiliation is unprecedented in policing. But sadly, he is not the only weather officer who has been accused of serious sexual offenses in recent times.”
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said he was “utterly sickened by the truly abhorrent crimes” committed by Carrick.
Khan said, “The people of London will be rightly shocked that this man was able to work for the Met for so long and serious questions must be answered about why he could have conducted his career as an officer in this appalling way.” How could you misuse the position?” tweeted on monday,
Khan remarked that work to improve the Met’s culture and standards has already begun following an interim review and the recent setting up of a new, anonymous police complaints hotline and anti-corruption team by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley. has gone.
“But more can and should be done,” Khan said. “I will continue to keep the Met in mind as they work to implement the necessary reforms.
“It is vital that all victims of crime have confidence in our police, and we must do more than just raise standards and empower police leaders to rid the police force of those officers and all other policing who serve are clearly unfit to do,” the mayor continued.