Police diversity obsession led to recruitment of a child rapist | UK | News
A diversity panel at the Metropolitan Police, Britain’s largest police force, overturned a refusal to review which led to rogue officers and staff committing rape, assault and drug offenses, an investigation has found. The panel was launched in 2019 after police found that applicants refused entry were disproportionately from ethnic minority backgrounds and under-represented groups, The Times reported.
The panel reviewed 505 applicants who failed the review process and overturned 114 rejection notices. Shockingly, more than a fifth of these officers (25 in total) went on to commit misconduct and crimes.
According to the report, one of the most shocking cases was that of Met PC Cliff Mitchell, 26, who was found guilty of 13 rapes against two victims, one of whom was a child. He should never have been hired after failing the vetting, senior officers said. Although he was arrested in 2017 and his application was blocked in 2020, the investigation panel later overturned the decision and he started his studies in August 2021. The investigation panel has since been disbanded.
Scotland Yard “deviated” from standard practice and failed to check thousands of references, a historical review and review of recruitment practices between 2013 and 2023, published on Thursday, found. Authorities also facilitated reviews amid a national drive to hire more than 4,500 officers and staff between July 2019 and March 2023.
The Metropolitan Police has been contacted via email for comment.
Increase in serious violent and terrorist crimes has led to investigative shortcuts
A rise in serious violent and terrorist crimes has meant the force has taken shortcuts as it strives to increase the number of firearms officers. Senior officers also touched on the shortage of frontline officers as the capital grapples with a rise in serious violence and the Covid pandemic.
At least 5,073 officers and staff were not properly vetted. Of this number, 4,528 had no Special Branch review checks, 431 had no Ministry of Defense checks and 114 had review refusals overturned by the Met’s internal panel. The other 3,338 people who needed to renew their review had only limited checks.
The report concluded that some deviations led to the detention of people who contributed to “police harm” and undermined public trust. The force has confirmed that senior police staff who signed off on decisions to abandon reference checks and investigations are still on duty. No individual was held personally responsible.
The Met’s deputy commissioner, Rachel Williams, said: “A series of individual decisions have been made over a decade… this is the combined effect of making a series of decisions that have widened the level of risk. [we can say] The Met said around 1,450 recruits may have had their reviews rejected and failed pre-employment reference checks.
Met estimates 250 people won’t find work if references are checked
Williams said: “We found that some historic practices did not meet the strengthened recruitment and review standards we have today. We identified these issues ourselves and quickly remedied them, ensuring any risks to the public were managed correctly and effectively. It is important to emphasize that the Met recruits hundreds of officers and staff each year, the overwhelming majority of whom [are] They are individuals of exemplary character who are committed to protecting the public.”
The Met said the references of 17,355 officers and staff were not properly checked between 2018 and April 2022. Police estimate that about 250 people would not have been able to find work if their references had been checked.
The Met said it had seen evidence of at least five other forces in England and Wales not receiving references during the Police Incentives Program (PUP). The joint Home Office, National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing PUP delivery team were aware of this, the report said.
