More than 2,000 rotten officers could be sacked following a major overhaul of the police disciplinary system set to be announced this month.
Following a succession of shocking scandals that have exposed flaws in the police vetting process, ministers will publish ‘radical’ changes to make it easier to weed out rogue cops.
A review into the process for dismissing police officers was launched this year after the murder of Sarah Everard by Scotland Yard officer Wayne Couzens and the jailing of his colleague, prolific rapist David Carrick.
EmmanuelsBlog understands that a plan to ‘radically overhaul’ the process for getting rid of officers who commit misconduct is now going through final clearance and is set to be published within weeks.
Government sources estimate some 2,000 police officers who are still in the ranks despite being accused of crimes including sexual assault and corruption could be sacked under the measures.
At the end of last year, Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said there were more than 500 officers in his force who are ‘suspended or restricted because of misconduct investigations’ but that he is unable to sack them.
The Metropolitan Police employs about a quarter of all officers in England and Wales.
Sources expect the scale of misconduct at the Met to be replicated across other forces, meaning about 2,000 officers could be dismissed under the new rules.
The proposals will require all misconduct panels to be chaired by chief constables – sidelining independent legally qualified chairmen (LQCs).
LQCs were given the powers by Theresa May following fears that the system was potentially self-serving, but police commissioners have become frustrated that the chairmen have the final say on whether officers who commit serious transgressions should be sacked.
Research published earlier this year found that when senior Met officers ran the force’s disciplinary system many more police accused of wrongdoing were sacked than by LQCs.
Ministers believe the current process is ‘convoluted’ and too slow, and want police chiefs to be responsible for managing who works in their force.
In another change, officers who fail to maintain their vetting status would be automatically dismissed – whereas they can continue to work under current rules.
And the six-stage process for removing officers for underperformance will be simplified to just two stages to make it easier to sack officers who demonstrate an inability or failure to perform their duties, sources said.
Officers facing the sack would still be able to appeal the decision to a police tribunal, which the Home Office hopes will ensure sufficient checks in the system.
A government source told the Mail that the proposals, worked up by policing minister Chris Philp, will ensure there is a ‘more robust process’ for weeding out officers who should not be serving.
The source added: ‘The plan is very developed and is with No 10 for final approval, and it should be published in the next few weeks.
‘It will radically overhaul the process for getting rid of police officers who commit misconduct.’
Once approved, the proposals could come into force within months because there is no need for new laws – and rogue officers could be dismissed as early as this year.
The Home Office launched a review into the process of police officer dismissals in January following concerns about standards and culture within policing.
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, said at the time that it needed to be ‘easier to sack bad officers’ and to ensure ‘bureaucracy and unnecessary procedure does not prevail over ethics and common sense’.
Couzens could have been identified as a sex offender six years before he abducted, raped and murdered Ms Everard.
And Carrick passed his re-vetting after officers failed to put together a series of complaints about predatory behaviour.
He was sentenced in February to a minimum of 30 years in prison for 24 counts of rape against 12 women while serving as a Met officer.
