Watchdog investigating Met Police’s handling of serial rapist David Carrick

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Independent Office for Police Conduct is investigating whether Met Police officers repeatedly failed to take appropriate action when criminal allegations were made against Carrick, who was handed 36 life sentences, with a minimum term of 32 years – minus his time spent on remand – in February after becoming one of the country’s worst ever sex offenders. Our review has identified repeated failures to progress conduct investigations when the Met’s DPS officers were advised that no further action was being taken by the forces carrying out the criminal investigations into Carrick IOPC regional director Mel Palmer “The nature and extent of his offending also raised serious questions about whether disciplinary action should have been taken against him when serious allegations were made about his behaviour. “Our review has identified repeated failures to progress conduct investigations when the Met’s Department of Professional Standards officers were advised that no further action was being taken by the forces carrying out the criminal investigations into Carrick.” Carrick, who joined the Met in 2001 before becoming an armed officer with the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, used his position to gain his victims’ trust and scare them into silence. Ms Palmer said the IOPC was “deeply concerned” to find that in two of the cases, Carrick’s name was removed from the Met Police’s system records after the criminal investigations were dropped, which meant that some previous allegations made against him did not show up in the system and officers were unable to build a “complete picture of his pattern of offending”.