A British police officer who admitted being a serial rapist, David Carrick, was formally sacked on Tuesday.
This is just as the government called on forces across the country to root out the criminal and corrupt in their ranks.
Carrick’s guilty plea to 24 counts of rape against 12 women and a string of other sex offences over two decades has caused widespread shock, undermining public faith in the police.
It has also piled pressure on his force, the Metropolitan Police in London, that is already reeling from the kidnap, rape, and murder of a young women by another of its officers two years ago.
A day after Carrick’s admission, Met Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe said his case was “sickening and horrific” and had “far-reaching consequences” for policing.
“I truly hope to never see its like again,” she told an internal disciplinary hearing.
Carrick, 48, had been suspended from his job in an armed unit protecting MPs and foreign diplomats since the allegations came to light in late 2021.
Police misconduct hearings are typically held after the conclusion of criminal proceedings against an officer.
But Carrick’s was fast-tracked after his guilty pleas and, unusually, opened to the media given the unprecedented nature of his crimes.
READ ALSO: London police officer rapes 24 women met on dating sites
Lawyer Hywel Jenkins, representing Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, called Carrick’s crimes “heinous, targeted and deliberate”.
They have had a “catastrophic” impact on his victims and their families, while also undermining confidence in the police service, he added.
“The public of Greater London expect police officers to uphold the law and protect women from violence.
“PC (police constable) Carrick did the opposite,” Rolfe said.
Carrick, a former soldier who did not attend the hearing and had no legal representation, was sacked for gross misconduct.
The serial rapist officer will be sentenced in court over two days from February 6.
More than 1,600 claims of sex offences and domestic violence against just over 1,000 Met Police officers and staff are currently under review.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman, whose brief includes policing, called Carrick’s crimes “a dark day for policing and the Metropolitan Police”.
“For anyone to have gone through such torment is harrowing but for it to happen at the hands of someone they entrusted to keep people safe is almost beyond comprehension,” she told MPs.
How criminality can be stamped out of police forces was the subject of a government-commissioned review, she said.
Braverman met Rowley on Monday and said she was “encouraged” by the action taken by the Met so far to root out corrupt officers not fit to serve, to restore public trust.
But she said it was vital for the Met and other forces to redouble their efforts.
“This may mean more shocking cases come to light in the short term,” she added.
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