Met officers remain on the force after vetting revoked

Dozens of Metropolitan Police officers remain in the force despite having their vetting withdrawn, The Independent can reveal.

- MAYA OPPENHEIM

The convictions of serial rapist David Carrick and rapist and murderer Wayne Couzens, both serving officers when they committed their crimes, exposed deficiencies in the recruitment processes of Britain's largest police force.

Last March, the Met launched Operation Assure, which assesses the vetting of serving officers and staff when concerns have been pinpointed about their conduct. Information obtained under freedom of information laws shows that, in the last five years, 53 police officers had their vetting withdrawn while serving in the Met.

Of those, 30 are undergoing appeals, 12 had their appeals dismissed and are awaiting performance hearings, and 11 have left the force due to resigning, retiring or being dismissed.

The Met stopped short of confirming whether the officers still in the force are suspended but a spokesperson said: “If we have information that an officer is involved in corrupt or abusive behaviour, we review their vetting and remove it if justified. After removal of vetting, officers can no longer perform their role or access any police systems, and face gross incompetence proceedings.”