Message to the Met: sexual predators are still on your force, they’re just lying low

I served with the police for 30 years, says former superintendent Leroy Logan, and I can tell you the Met’s problem with vetting rogue officers isn’t about diversity or a few bad apples – I fear the whole barrel is rotten, says former superintendent Leroy Logan

London’s Metropolitan Police has admitted serious historical errors in vetting after a damning internal review exposed systemic failures in recruitment and background checks over the past decade – lapses that saw thousands of officers and staff join or remain in the force without proper scrutiny and, in some cases, later engage in criminal behaviour or misconduct.

The report, covering recruitment practices up to April 2023, revealed that, amid pressure to meet national recruitment targets, essential checks on references and security clearances were reduced or skipped entirely, previous vetting refusals were overturned and warning signs were missed.

Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said the force was being open and transparent about past shortcomings, while insisting that strengthened standards are now in place. Since 2022, more than 1,500 officers and staff have been removed from the service. And Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, has ordered an independent inspection of vetting procedures as critics warn the lapses risk public safety and erode trust in Britain’s largest police force.

That said, I cannot overestimate the importance of a police officer’s role in a democratic society. As the front-facing executive of the criminal justice system, an officer’s powers to detain, stop and search, and/or arrest a person in the execution of their duties can have life-changing consequences for the individual on the receiving end.

I’ll stick my neck out and say that most people who join the police service do so with the intention of becoming professional public servants, rather than being motivated by the control and power aspects of the role. Unfortunately, some are drawn to policing primarily for those latter reasons, with the public-service ethos treated as secondary or even irrelevant.

That is why a credible, efficient and effective selection and vetting process is essential. Applicants must be selected purely on merit, supported by rigorous background checks, so that the very best from a high-calibre talent pool progress to exemplary training and development. While the probationary period is intensive, on-the-job learning does not end there; it continues throughout an officer’s tenure of service, regardless of rank or specialism.

During my 30 years of service, including time spent in training and development roles at Hendon Training School in the 1990s, I saw first hand the importance of preventing rogue applicants from joining the police service in the first place. Where individuals did slip through the net, it was vital they were removed through a robust disciplinary process before becoming a liability – or worse, a danger – to colleagues and the public, as well as a threat to the reputation of policing itself.

I also learned the critical value of a strong whistleblowing culture: in an open, accountable and transparent organisation, whistleblowing is normalised, leaders listen and act decisively, protections are real rather than theoretical, learning is prioritised over blame, and there are no cover-ups.

The recent Charing Cross police scandal, exposed by an undercover journalist, demonstrates precisely what happens when these principles are absent.

If ever there was a case that demanded every possible check and balance, it was that of Wayne Couzens. The devastation and horror felt both nationally and internationally in March 2021, when it emerged that Sarah Everard’s murderer was a serving police officer, remain deeply etched in public memory.

The three police forces – Kent, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) and the Met – for which Couzens worked all had opportunities to stop him, yet none were taken, an inquiry found. Failures in recruitment, vetting and investigation meant clear “red flags about his unsuitability for office” went unnoticed, according to the Angiolini Inquiry.

As a member of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PADP) unit, Couzens severely damaged its reputation. Disturbingly, he was not an isolated case. Other officers from the unit were later convicted of serious sexual offences, with reviews highlighting repeated failures in vetting and oversight. More than 20 PADP officers went on to face misconduct and/or criminal proceedings for sexual offences.

The seriousness of these systemic failures is reflected in the case of David Carrick, who has been described by prosecutors as one of the most prolific sexual offenders in modern UK history and received 37 life sentences. Carrick was able to join and remain within the Metropolitan Police despite a history of allegations and incidents that, taken together, should have prompted closer scrutiny. Subsequent reviews found that information was not consistently shared between forces, warning signs were not properly escalated and complaints were assessed in isolation rather than as part of a wider pattern. As a result, Carrick continued to serve as a police officer while committing serious offences, ultimately leading to multiple convictions.

Concerns about vetting have also arisen in relation to Cliff Mitchell, another former officer later convicted of serious sexual offences. Reviews have indicated that deficiencies in recruitment checks and an over-reliance on limited disclosure processes meant relevant concerns were not fully identified or acted upon at the point of entry. While the individual circumstances differ, both cases illustrate how weaknesses in vetting and oversight can allow unsuitable candidates to enter the police service. These failures do not simply expose the organisation to reputational harm; they carry real-world consequences when officers entrusted with significant powers are not subject to the level of scrutiny the role demands.

The cumulative effect was to create the impression that the Met had become a safe haven for sexual predators – an environment that attracted more misogynists and sexists into the ranks, further entrenching a toxic culture. This is the real-world consequence of a vetting system that is inefficient, ineffective and unfit for purpose, opening the floodgates to individuals who should never have been anywhere near policing.

I am not convinced that all sexual predators within the service have been identified, let alone removed. Those determined to abuse their position know how to keep their heads down until scrutiny fades, before resuming their despicable behaviour.

As I have said before, this is not simply a matter of a few bad apples. I fear that the barrel itself is rotten. That is the central challenge facing the Met commissioner, the Mayor of London and the home secretary if they are serious about rebuilding trust and confidence in policing – particularly within the Met.

Leroy Logan is a retired Metropolitan Police superintendent, a founding member, and former chairman of the Black Police Association. The book ‘Closing Ranks: My Life as a Cop’ is out now