A serial rapist police officer has been sacked by the Metropolitan Police at a misconduct hearing.
David Carrick, 48, was found to be one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders after pleading guilty to dozens of rapes which the assistant commissioner has branded “sickening and horrific.”
Assistant commissioner Louisa Rolfe said she was in no doubt Carrick’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and said he should be dismissed from the Met without notice.
She acknowledged the “courage and suffering” of Carrick’s victims, adding: “This is a sickening and horrific case with far-reaching consequences for policing. I truly hope to never see its like again.”
Ms Rolfe assessed the harm caused by David Carrick’s misconduct as “critically high”. She said the public reaction to his crimes shows how his conduct has “gravely undermined” confidence in the police.
The former officer attacked at least 12 women over an 18-year period throughout his career at the Met. He was only suspended after being arrested following a second rape complaint in October 2021.
The Met said his pay was stopped and an accelerated misconduct process was launched after he first entered guilty pleas to 43 charges in December.
Tuesday's hearing was due to be held in private because Carrick still faced trial but was then opened to the media to watch on screens in a nearby building after he pleaded guilty to the remaining six counts at Southwark Crown Court on Monday.
“The public of Greater London expect police officers to uphold the law and protect women from violence. Pc Carrick did the opposite,” she said.
Ms Rolfe said the case had caused public harm, particularly to women and girls who may be less likely to “come forward and report they have been the victims of criminal offences.”
Carrick has now admitted 49 charges, including 24 counts of rape against 12 women over an 18-year period.
It comes as the head of Britain’s largest police force, Sir Mark Rowley, said he cannot guarantee that women reporting sexual offences will not encounter an officer accused of wrongdoing.
Sir Mark Rowley was asked if he could promise that a woman visiting a police station to report a sexual offence would not meet a police officer whose past behaviour was now under review, or who was tolerating similar behaviour in their department.
“I can’t, I’m not going to make a promise that I can’t stick to,” he told Good Morning Britain. “I’m going to put in place ruthless systems to squeeze out those who shouldn’t be with us.
“Most of our officers are fantastic, the people who specialised in this area are great and they have the skills. But do I have some officers who shouldn’t be in the Met that I’ve got to identify and get rid of? Yes I do, and I’m completely frank about that.”
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said the Met's failure to root out Carrick from its ranks reflects “cultural issues” within the force.
Speaking at a housing development in east London's Docklands, Mr Khan said: “Londoners will be shocked and appalled that someone who has been a serving police officer for almost 20 years was a prolific sexual offender.
“But also what's unacceptable is there were various opportunities where the chance to get rid of him and get justice were missed.
“That is one of the things that Sir Mark Rowley is getting to the bottom of. The reality is there are so many cultural issues within the police service.
“One of the reasons I lost confidence in the former commissioner was my view that she wasn't addressing these issues.”
Mr Khan added: “His senior team is looking back at any allegation from the last 10 years made against police officers and other police staff to see if there are other cases where opportunities were missed. I think Londoners deserve nothing less.”
