THE head of the Metropolitan Police has said criminal cases against officers are likely to go to court two to three times a week over the coming months.
Sir Mark Rowley told the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee moves to reform the force will not be rapid and will be painful.
Speaking at the meeting, Sir Mark said the force had not "applied the same level of ruthlessness" to upholding its integrity as it applied to fighting crime.
He warned that they will “probably find many cases where we got it wrong” as they review hundreds of officers historically accused of sexual offences and domestic abuse.
He also said that the Met will "probably find many cases where we got it wrong" in their review of hundreds of officers historically accused of sexual offences and domestic abuse.
He was speaking in the wake of the case of PC David Carrick, who served as a Met officer for 20 years before being unmasked as one of the country’s most prolific sex offenders.
In the wake of Carrick’s guilty plea last week, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said more disturbing cases involving police officers could be uncovered in the short term.
A new Met Police integrity hotline has received 10s of calls a week, leading to new investigations, Sir Mark said, a third of which relate to other forces.
He told the Committee: “Even though this is a Met appeal, one in three of the calls coming through roughly are for other forces. We’re passing information on as well.
“Through our challenges, we’re helping the rest of policing confront some issues as well.”
Sir Mark urged the public not to lose heart as the Met roots out hundreds of corrupt officers thought to be serving in the force.
“Lifting the stone and revealing painful truths will not be resolved overnight. And I mustn’t pretend it will do, and I hope you understand that that can’t be done.
“We have to prepare for more painful stories as we confront the issues that we face.
“We’ve discussed before, the systemic failings that create these problems of these officers who corrupt our integrity, and as we put in more resource, more assertive tactics, as we are more open to people reporting incidents to us from within and from without the organisation, and as we more determinedly take on these cases, it will tackle the problems that we face but it won’t… it won’t be rapid and it will be painful.”
