In the two weeks since an officer in London’s Metropolitan Police admitted to being a serial rapist, politicians and commentators have called for the Met to undergo “root-and-branch” reform.
Beyond the abhorrent case of the now-former police constable David Carrick, Met commissioner Mark Rowley has revealed that London currently has a damaged and ineffective police service. Rowley said that every week for the foreseeable future, many of his officers would be appearing in court in trials involving “violence against women and girls” – as defendants, not case officers.
Since the 1970s, the Met has had a series of so-called “reforming commissioners”. One was Rowley’s predecessor, Cressida Dick, the first woman to be appointed to the top job.
