David Carrick: Met Police officer admits string of 24 rapes over 17 years

Serving Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick has pleaded guilty to dozens of rapes and sexual offences over almost two decades.

Carrick, 48, confessed to the 49 charges, which included 24 counts of rape, against 12 women.

The offences took place from 2003 to 2020, mostly in Hertfordshire, where he lived.

He was suspended from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, where he served as an armed officer, on his arrest in October 2021.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I am absolutely sickened and appalled by the truly abhorrent offences that David Carrick has committed.

“Londoners will be rightly shocked that this man was able to work for the Met for so long and serious questions must be answered about how he was able to abuse his position as an officer in this horrendous manner.

“I remain in close contact with the new Met commissioner about this case and the work to reform the culture and standards of the Met has already started with Baroness Louise Casey’s interim review now complete and a new, anonymous police complaints hotline and anti-corruption team recently established by Sir Mark Rowley.

“But more can and must be done - including acting on the findings of the forthcoming Angiolini inquiry - and I will continue to hold the Met to account as they work to implement the reforms needed.

“It’s vital that all victims of crime have confidence in our police, and we simply must do more to raise standards and empower police leaders to rid the Met and all other police services of those officers who are clearly unfit to serve.”

He added: “I fully support the commissioner’s calls for the Home Secretary to urgently reform police regulations governing misconduct to help raise standards in the police.

“This is long overdue and I urge the government to conclude their ongoing review of police dismissals quickly to ensure that the system is changed so it’s more effective in removing officers whose behaviour is demonstrably criminal or whose actions fall well short of the standards expected by policing and the public.”

Met assistant commissioner Barbara Gray said: “On behalf of the Metropolitan Police, I want to apologise to the women who have suffered at the hands of David Carrick. I commend their outstanding bravery in coming forward and reporting the horrific crimes they were victims of.

“Carrick is a prolific, serial sex offender who preyed on women over a period of many years, abusing his position as a police officer and committing the most horrific, degrading crimes.

“He has devastated women’s lives. He has had a devastating impact on the trust and confidence of women and girls that we are working so hard to earn. He has devastated colleagues.

“He used the fact he was a police officer to control and coerce his victims. We know they felt unable to come forward sooner because he told them they would not be believed.”

She continued: “We should have spotted his pattern of abusive behaviour and because we didn’t, we missed opportunities to remove him from the organisation.

“We are truly sorry that Carrick was able to continue to use his role as a police officer to prolong the suffering of his victims.

“I would also like to recognise the work of the Hertfordshire Constabulary officers whose thorough investigation has meant Carrick’s victims have been spared the further ordeal of a trial.”

Yvette Cooper, shadow home secretary, described the case as “shocking, appalling and devastating” and called it “a tribute to the bravery of his victims that this man has now been caught”.

She said: “But it is further evidence of appalling failures in the police vetting and misconduct processes, still not addressed by government, that he was ever able to serve as a police officer.

“Two years ago, after the awful murder of Sarah Everard, Conservative ministers promised that action would be taken to improve vetting, checks and standards. Yet since then, ministers have completely failed to introduce any new national standards or requirements or any serious changes to police vetting, conduct and misconduct processes.

“Instead at the very time that Wayne Cozens was being prosecuted and Home Office ministers and the police were promising change, the police had failed to suspend David Carrick while rape allegations were investigated, and soon after reinstated his firearm permissions. Everyone who demanded change will feel badly let down today.”

She added: “Labour has been calling for a long time for action from the Home Office to completely overhaul the police standards system to restore confidence in policing and in the vital work that so many officers across the country are doing every day to tackle violence against women and girls.

“Yet there has been a total lack of leadership from the centre. We support the changes the new Metropolitan Police commissioner is but the government needs to take this much, much further with national requirements properly enforced for all police forces.

“The next Labour government will to introduce new national compulsory standards on vetting, checks and misconduct. We urgently need action to raise standards and restore confidence in the vital work the police do.”

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey said: "This case is shocking and disturbing.

"Officers like David Carrick need to be identified and rooted out quickly, with investment in quality supervision and training to ensure the small number of officers who abuse their position are removed immediately.

"For the sake of his victims and survivors, there should be an investigation into how the alarm bells and red flags have been ignored in this case. Without swift action, the public will not regain trust in the police."

More to follow.