The Met is blighted by “unacceptable” failings in the way that it tackles corruption within its ranks and has recruited more than 100 officers who have committed offences in the past two years alone, a report by the police watchdog has warned.
The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services said that there were “fundamental flaws” in Scotland Yard’s anti-corruption safeguards and that it had also recently hired people with criminal connections and failed to supervise them to minimise risks.
It said other failings included “dire” procedures for storing exhibits from investigations with “hundreds of items... not accounted for, including cash and drugs” and the security code for one store inscribed on the door.
The offences committed by officers hired in the past two years included wounding, theft and handling stolen goods. The watchdog said the force also did not know whether all the officers employed in sensitive posts, such as child protection, major crime investigation and informant handling, had passed the necessary security vetting.
It added that more than 2,000 warrant cards issued to officers who had subsequently left the force remained unaccounted for and that it had failed to learn the lessons from its corruption-blighted investigation into the 1987 murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan.
Unveiling the findings, HM Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said: “It is unacceptable that 35 years after Daniel Morgan’s murder, the Met Police has not done enough to ensure its failings from that investigation cannot be repeated.
“In fact, we found no evidence that someone, somewhere, had adopted the view that this must never happen again.”
He added: “We found substantial weaknesses in the Met’s approach to tackling police corruption. From failing to properly supervise police officers who have previously committed offences, to inadequate vetting procedures, and much more besides, it is clear that the current arrangements are not fit for purpose.
“The Met’s apparent tolerance of these shortcomings suggests a degree of indifference to the risk of corruption.
“We have made several recommendations for change. If public confidence in the Met is to be improved, they should be among the Commissioner’s highest priorities.”
The report was commissioned last year by Home Secretary Priti Patel.
Ms Patel said the issues assessed should include how the Met prevents and investigates corruption, how well it had learnt from its failings in the Daniel Morgan probe, and whether it had responded appropriately to requests made for material relating to the case.
It follows the damning conclusions last year of an independent panel’s inquiry into the Met’s conduct following Mr Morgan’s murder which condemned the Met as “institutionally corrupt” in the way it investigated the murder, and in its failure to cooperate with inquiries into what went wrong.
The report concluded, however, that there was “no evidence of any deliberate or coordinated attempts by the Met to frustrate the work of the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel”.
