Two police officers who failed to properly investigate an allegation of abuse by serial rapist David Carrick five years earlier have been given final written warnings.
Inspector David Tippetts, then a Wiltshire sergeant and PC Emma Fisher, faced a misconduct hearing following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
A woman called the force to report that PC Carrick had abused another female in January 2016.
Carrick worked in the same Metropolitan Police armed unit as Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens.
Fisher was assigned to investigate the matter.
After speaking in person to the woman who made the report, she requested the case be closed and her supervisor Tippetts agreed.
Fisher updated the force’s computer system saying the woman said the matter had been investigated some time earlier.
An IOPC spokesman said: “In fact, it had not been investigated and no record of a previous investigation could be found on Wiltshire’s systems.
“Neither officer checked police systems nor took any further steps to investigate the matter. The female who was identified as being the victim of the abuse was never contacted about the allegation.”
The police watchdog said if either had searched Carrick’s name on Wiltshire Police’s crime recording system, they would have found he was under investigation - in an unrelated case – for offences against another woman, which had been reported to Wiltshire three days earlier.
Wiltshire Police officers disciplined over David Carrick investigation failure
— Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) (@policeconduct) June 7, 2024
The @wiltshirepolice officers failed to adequately investigate 2016 allegation of abuse by serial rapist and former @metpoliceuk officer David Carrick
▶️ https://t.co/IrPtEPrd3c pic.twitter.com/eCYbvqePNJ
Despite being told that Carrick was a serving Met officer, they did not notify the force’s Directorate of Professional Standards.
Carrick, unmasked as one of the UK’s worst sex offenders, abused 12 women over 17 years.
In February last year, he was sentenced to a minimum term of 30 years in prison for 49 violent and sexual offences, including 24 counts of rape.
IOPC regional director Mel Palmer said: “No one is to blame for David Carrick’s horrific spate of offending but him.
“However, our investigation found there was a missed opportunity by Wiltshire Police officers to investigate him following a report of a serious abuse allegation made years before he was eventually arrested.
“PC Fisher took minimal investigative action. She didn’t try to contact the victim of the reported crime, flag to the Met a serious allegation against one of its officers, or search David Carrick’s name on Wiltshire Police’s systems. This would have shown that Carrick was already under investigation following another a report of a serious offence three days earlier.
“PC Fisher requested the investigation be closed following minimal work or effort, and her supervisor, PS Tippetts, agreed and - contrary to the force’s policy - failed to flag any concerns to colleagues in CID who specialise in investigating serious allegations.”
