London
CNN
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A serving officer in London’s Metropolitan Police has admitted to 49 offenses, including 24 counts of rape over an 18-year interval, reigniting requires pressing reform within the United Kingdom’s largest police power.
David Carrick appeared at Southwark Crown Court within the British capital Monday to plead responsible to 4 counts of rape, false imprisonment and indecent assault relating to a 40-year-old girl in 2003, the UK’s PA Media information company reported.
At the Old Bailey felony court docket in London final month, Carrick admitted to 43 prices against 11 different ladies, including 20 counts of rape, between March 2004 and September 2020, in accordance to PA.
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A series of recent scandals has make clear what the UK police watchdog known as a tradition of misogyny and racism in London’s police service.
In September 2021, Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens was sentenced to life in jail with out parole for the kidnapping, rape and homicide of Sarah Everard, a case that horrified the nation and sparked debate about violence against ladies.
The Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner Cressida Dick resigned from her post in 2022, after a damning assessment by the Independent Office for Police Conduct issued 15 suggestions “to change policing practice” within the nation.
The UK’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) mentioned Carrick’s case is one of the “most shocking” it has ever seen.
“The scale of the degradation Carrick subjected his victims to is unlike anything I have encountered in my 34 years with the Crown Prosecution Service,” CPS Chief Crown Jaswant Narwal mentioned.
“I commend every single woman who courageously shared their traumatic experience and enabled us to bring this case to court and see justice served,” Narwal continued whereas talking outdoors Southwark Crown Court Monday.
The senior investigating officer within the case, Detective Chief Inspector Iain Moor, known as Carrick’s crimes “truly shocking.”
“The police service is committed to tackling violence against women and girls in all its forms,” Moor mentioned. “I hope the victims and the public more widely are reassured that no one is above the law and the police service will relentlessly pursue those offenders who target women in this way.”
Assistant Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Barbara Gray additionally apologized on behalf of the police power to all of the victims.
Speaking to a reporter on Monday, Gray mentioned that Carrick “should have been dismissed from the police service a long time ago.”
In a separate assertion on Monday, she mentioned: “We should have spotted his pattern of abusive behavior and because we didn’t, we missed opportunities to remove him from the organization. We are truly sorry that Carrick was able to continue to use his role as a police officer to prolong the suffering of his victims.”
“The duration and nature of Carrick’s offending is unprecedented in policing. But regrettably he is not the only Met officer to have been charged with serious sexual offences in the recent past,” she added.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, mentioned he’s “absolutely sickened by the truly abhorrent offences” that Carrick dedicated.
“Londoners will be rightly shocked that this man was able to work for the Met for so long and serious questions must be answered about how he was able to abuse his position as an officer in this horrendous manner,” Khan tweeted Monday.
Khan commented that work to reform the tradition and requirements of the Met has already began following an interim assessment and {that a} new, nameless police complaints hotline and anti-corruption crew has just lately been established by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley.
“But more can and must be done,” added Khan. “I’ll proceed to maintain the Met to account as they work to implement the reforms wanted.
“It’s vital that all victims of crime have confidence in our police, and we simply must do more to raise standards and empower police leaders to rid the Met and all other police services of those officers who are clearly unfit to serve,” the mayor continued.