This article contains references to sexual assault and rape.
There is an epidemic of violence against women within our society and our police force. We are not safe.
On Monday, 16 January, news broke that one of the most prolific sex offenders in modern UK history was a serving Metropolitan police officer. David Carrick has been revealed as a serial rapist who committed more than 71 serious sexual offences. He has since been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison before he can be considered for release.
Sir Mark Rowley, Chief of Scotland Yard, recognised that women's trust in the police is understandably at an all-time low: “We have let down women across London but we are more determined than ever to put it right. I have been clear; we will rid the Met of those who corrupt our integrity by bringing the same intensive investigative approach to identifying wrongdoing in our own ranks as we do to identifying criminals in the community,
Despite repeated allegations to the police about Carrick’s conduct – over two decades – he was allowed to continue working in an institution whose motto is “working together for a safer London.” Ironic, considering more than 170 serving Met Police officers are under investigation for alleged domestic abuse.
David Carrick, whose role was to keep the public safe, pleaded guilty to 24 counts of rape and nine counts of sexual assault, as well as other crimes, including verbally abusing women, calling one woman his “slave,” using sexual violence to degrade them, and urinating on some women without consent. He used his power as a badge of impunity to silence and intimidate victims.
The Met has now admitted errors in failing to spot Carrick’s escalating danger during his 20 years of service. I am curious as to how they failed to spot him as a danger when countless women came forward to report his behaviour. Did they “fail to spot” his behaviour or did they choose to ignore it?
Just 1% of officers accused have been sacked.
The force was told about nine incidents from 2000 to 2021, including alleged attacks or incidents Carrick had with women before the arrest that led to his convictions, but no action was taken. David Carrick was left free to torture and abuse women as he saw fit.
It's questionable how he was allowed to join the Met in 2001, given that he had already been reported to the police for malicious communications and burglary, or how he was not the subject of misconduct proceedings, seeing as he received further allegations in 2002 for harassment and assault, and a reported “domestic incident” in 2004. He repeatedly used his power as a police officer to make his victims fearful of him.
This outrageous revelation, unfortunately, did not come as a shock to many. Over the past 24 months alone, we have seen the jailing of officer Wayne Couzens, for the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard; the awful exposures of racist and misogynistic conduct at Charing Cross Police station, where officers were found to have joked about rape and exchanged offensive social media messages; and the posting on social media of photos taken by police of the bodies of murder victims Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.
This is not just a “bad apple,” the whole tree appears to be rotting. Is it surprising that women don’t have faith in the police when their allegations are not taken seriously, and those who are supposed to protect them are perpetrators? Who is policing who?
The alleged offences are said to have taken place between January and February 2021.
As of September 2022, 173 serving Met officers have outstanding accusations against them at “different stages” of investigation for domestic abuse. These are officers who have had an official complaint made against them, either directly or anonymously through various domestic violence reporting channels. If the men who are placed in charge of our safety are the very men raping, assaulting and abusing, how can women begin to believe they are safe?
The Metropolitan police service has failed. It has failed to protect women, BAME individuals, disabled people and children. There are currently 1000 Metropolitan Police officers and staff remaining in service despite being accused of sexual offences or domestic abuse. This is the Met’s stance on the prevalence of violence against women and girls in our society.
It isn't as if the Met is unaware of these individuals. Wayne Couzens was reportedly nicknamed “The Rapist” before he murdered and raped Sarah Everard. David Carrick was nicknamed “Bastard Dave” at work, for his cruel behaviour. How as a society can we expect the Metropolitan police and other police forces to tackle the prevalence of violence against women when the perpetrators of some of these horrific crimes are on their payroll?
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Wayne Couzens used police ID and handcuffs to kidnap and then rape and murder Sarah Everard. He used his power to frighten her into thinking she was being arrested. David Carrick told his victims if they spoke out about him raping and sexually assaulting them, they would not be believed because he was a police officer. The power these men have over women has been given to them by the Metropolitan police service. Let’s remember that the Met’s earlier response to potential abuse of power by its employees was to tell women to flag down a bus.
Misogyny and the normalisation of male violence against women and girls are commonplace in our society. With 1 in 4 women being raped or sexually assaulted (according to the ONS Sexual offences prevalence and victim characteristics report England and Wales), but only 1 in 100 rapes recorded by the police in 2021 resulted in a charge that same year – let alone a conviction, the epidemic of male violence against women and girls in our society and our police is staggering.
In his statement, Sir Mark Rowley added, "We have failed. And I’m sorry. He should not have been a police officer.
“We failed as investigators where we should have been more intrusive and joined the dots on this repeated misogyny over a couple of decades. And as leaders, our mindset should have been more determined to root out such a misogynist.
“I apologise to all of David Carrick’s victims. And I also want to say sorry to all of the women across London who feel we’ve let them down.”
If you need support, Refuge is here for you. You can contact them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0808 2000 247, or via www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk. You are not alone.
