Police chief: ‘Nonsense, I can’t fire misbehaving officers’

The head of Britain’s biggest police force has said it is “absurd” that he cannot sack officers after moving to clean up the workforce.

Metropolitan police Mr. Commissioner Mark Rowleywho took up the role in September, believes the hundreds of corrupt officers serving in the force should not be in the role.

Sir Mark told BBC Radio London on Thursday morning: “In all cases I don’t have the final say on who is in the Metropolitan Police. I know that sounds crazy, I’m a commissioner.

“There are independent courts that can decide that we have to keep someone even if we want to fire them, and that’s one of the powers that needs to be changed.

“The Secretary of the Interior is doing a review that she will publish later this month.

“If you expect me to deal with the cultural problems at the Met and get rid of people, then give me the power to do that.

“Can you imagine sitting down with the chief executive of a large organization and saying they’re not allowed to fire certain people — someone has to decide for them? It seems pointless.”

He added that the dismissed officers would also be prosecuted if they committed a crime.

In a letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs Suella Braverman and the Mayor of London Sadiq KhanSir Mark said the work to clean up the force was so urgent that around 90 officers had been diverted from serious crime to the Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS).

Sir Mark said: “Not only have we increased our DPS by 150, but the scale and urgency of this work has meant that officers have been diverted from other missions such as serious and organized crime and counter-terrorism.

“Over the last three months we have had an average of 90 additional officers and staff from these areas supporting DPS.

“The overall determination is visible through the surplus of volunteers.

“We made this decision because we cannot succeed in any policing mission unless we address these issues as quickly as possible.”

He added: “The most urgent thing is to get the cancer out of the body, if you will, and that’s what it’s all about, that first step.”

The Met is carrying out a series of reviews of officers and staff to try to weed out those who should not be on the job.

More than 1,000 records where officers and staff have been accused of domestic violence or sexual offenses over the past 10 years have now been reviewed to ensure that a decision has been made.

A total of 161 Met officers have criminal convictions, 76 for serious road traffic offences, including drink-driving and careless driving.

A further 49 have convictions for dishonesty or violent crime – eight of whom committed offenses while police officers and continue to serve in the police force.

Other offenses include drug possession, criminal damage and public order offences, and three serving officers have convictions for sex offences.

Sir Mark said he saw the list and thought “this is wrong”.

However, he told BBC Radio 4 today the program lacks the “freedom of freedom” to fire “hundreds” of people on the force who shouldn’t be there.

All 50,000 Met staff are checked against the national police database, which is used for intelligence.

So far, out of 10,000 records checked, 38 cases of potential wrongdoing and 55 cases of off-duty contact with a criminal have been identified.

Ms Braverman said: “The Met plays a unique role in keeping millions of Londoners safe and protecting the country from terrorism, so it is vital that the public trust the force to carry out these duties with the utmost professionalism.

“Sir Mark’s latest update on the work to remove unfit officers demonstrates the scale of the problem, but I am confident in his plan to turn the Met around and make sure the force works for the public.

“I am also continuing work to review the police dismissal process to ensure the system is effective in removing officers who do not meet the standards we expect.”

Mr Khan said: “It is right that steps are now being taken to review and de-vet officers who cannot be trusted to police London – this is the first step towards their complete removal from the Met.”

Susan Hall, chair of the London Assembly’s policing and crime committee, said the number of criminal convictions “proves” the force’s vetting service is “not fit for purpose”.

Abigail Ampafa, from leading domestic violence charity Refuge, said: “While we welcome Matt addressing his grossly inadequate vetting practices and rooting out officers who commit crimes, we remain concerned that this approach fails to address the systemic problems within the Met and wider policing.

“The announcement of a number of figures obscures the real problem – a force that is institutionally misogynistic, racist and homophobic.

“Until Sir Mark Rowley can recognize the scale of this problem and initiate fundamental reform, survivors will not regain the confidence to come to the police about the crimes committed against them.”