TWO or three Met Police officers per week are expected to appear in court on criminal charges in the coming weeks and months, the force’s chief has said.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley says the public should “prepare for more painful stories” as the force confronts the issues it faces.
He said cases included “violence against women and girls offences”, such as domestic abuse and sex offences.
“There’s a trickle of them and more are going be surfacing,” he added.
Sir Mark was speaking to the Greater London Authority’s Police and Crime Committee in the wake of the case of PC David Carrick, who admitted dozens of rape and sexual offences against 12 women on 16 January.
Apologising to the victims of former officer David and said the public should “prepare for more painful stories as we confront cases that… corrupt our integrity”.
Carrick, one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders, admitted 49 criminal charges including 24 counts of rape for crimes committed over an 18-year period.
Speaking at a meeting of the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee, Sir Mark said the force had not “applied the same level of ruthlessness” to upholding its integrity as it applied to fighting crime.
The Met chief also mentioned the case of PC Hussain Chehab, who pleaded guilty to child sex offences on Tuesday.
Sir Mark urged the public not to lose heart as the Met rooted out hundreds of corrupt officers thought to be serving.
“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,” he said.
“We have to prepare for more painful stories as we confront the issues that we face.”
During the meeting, he also revealed a new Met corruption hotline had received tens of calls each week, a third of which related to other forces.
He said the Met had been passing information on to other forces as a result of the calls.
Sir Mark also apologised to “women across London who feel let down and whose trust in policing has been let down”.
“We must improve dramatically for London. Lifting the stone and revealing painful truths will not be resolved overnight”.
