The Metropolitan Police failed to throw out an officer who has pleaded guilty to a string of sexual offences despite nine incidents coming to police attention over two decades, including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment.
PC David Carrick faced no criminal sanctions and was not found to have committed misconduct over the incidents between 2000 and 2021 – with all but one involving alleged women victims.
Here are the key events before his conviction:
Carrick joins the Met despite prior allegations
The 48-year-old passed vetting procedures to join the force in 2001 despite allegations of malicious communications and burglary against an ex-partner the previous year.
He was accused of harassment and sexual assault against a former partner during his probationary period in 2002 but the matter was not referred to the Directorate of Professional Standards.
Carrick was then the subject of five complaints from members of the public between 2002 and 2008, including rudeness, incivility and the use of force – with two incidents dealt with by management action.
Carrick becomes firearms officer despite domestic incident
He passed checks to become a firearms officer in 2009 despite at least one further domestic incident involving the Met in 2004.
In the year he transferred to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, Hertfordshire Police received a domestic abuse report from a third party involving Carrick but neither party made a complaint and no charge was brought. Hertfordshire Police informed his Met supervisors.
He was also the suspect in a 2016 Hampshire Police investigation following an allegation of harassment, but he was not arrested.
He was re-vetted in 2017 – the same year he was spoken to by Thames Valley Police officers after being thrown out of a nightclub in Reading while drunk.
After being accused of grabbing a woman by the neck during a domestic incident investigated by Hertfordshire Constabulary in 2019, the PC was given “words of advice” but found to have no misconduct case to answer in relation to informing his chain of command about off-duty incidents.
Arrested on suspicion of rape
He was placed on restricted duties after being arrested on suspicion of rape in July 2021, but the restrictions were lifted after the criminal probe was dropped in September.
Carrick has now admitted two charges of rape, two of sexual assault and one count of controlling and coercive behaviour in relation to the woman.
He never returned to full duties because he was arrested again over another rape allegation in October after another woman came forward.
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Dozens of women come forward with allegations
The investigation prompted another dozen women to come forward with allegations, with many saying they had been scared to speak out because of his position.
No police colleagues had complained about Carrick’s behaviour, but after his arrest some officers confirmed he was known as “B*****d Dave” because he was “mean and cruel”.
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Met admits sufficient intelligence checks were not carried out
The Met Police has said it is confident Carrick would not have passed vetting procedures used to check those wanting to join the force today.
It said, when he joined what is now the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in 2009, previous incidents resulting in criminal or misconduct action were not necessarily taken into consideration.
But the force admitted sufficient intelligence checks were not carried out when he was re-vetted in 2017 and Carrick was not vetted again after he was arrested for rape in July 2021.
A full review was only carried out when he was arrested in October 2021.
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• 1996-1997: Carrick serves in the British Army
• 2000: He is a suspect in two offences reported to the Met involving allegations of malicious communications and burglary against a former partner. He is not arrested and no action is taken.
• 2002: After joining the Met in August 2001 and still within his two-year probationary period Carrick is accused of harassment and assault against a former partner. He is not arrested and no further action is taken – the matter is not referred to the Directorate of Professional Standards.
• Same year: He is subject to the first of five public complaints made between 2002 and 2008. Two allege he had been rude while three relate to incivility and use of force.
• 2003: He repeatedly rapes his first known victim.
• 2004: He rapes a 57-year-old woman.
• 2006-2009: On several occasions he rapes a woman who he abuses, threatens with violence and demeans.
• 2009: Carrick is transferred to what is now the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, where he provides an armed police presence at parliamentary, government and diplomatic premises.
• Same year: Hertfordshire Police receives a domestic abuse report involving Carrick but neither party make a complaint and no charge is brought.
• Same year: Carrick sexually assaults a 51-year-old woman after a social evening.
• August same year: He sexually assaults a 47-year-old woman after sharing a hotel room after a social event.
• November same year: He invites a 57-year-old woman back to his home before becoming aggressive and trying to rape her.
• November 2015: Carrick rapes a 45-year-old woman.
• 2016: He is a suspect in a Hampshire Police investigation following an allegation of harassment but is not arrested and the investigation is later closed.
• October same year: He repeatedly rapes and sexually abuses a woman he met online, in some cases causing injuries and urinating over her.
• 2017: Although Carrick should have been vetted after 10 years of service he is only now re-vetted. He passes.
• Same year: He is spoken to by Thames Valley Police after he is thrown out of a nightclub in Reading for being drunk. He is not arrested and the matter is not referred to the Met.
• March same year: Carrick meets a woman on a night out and goes on to rape her multiple times and sexually abuse her. She later says he was totally controlling and aggressive and would regularly urinate in her mouth, humiliate her and threaten her with violence.
• Same year: He meets a 31-year-old woman on an online dating site who later says he raped her in the shower after dragging her in by her hair. She also describes being whipped with a belt and suffocated during sex.
• July 2018: Carrick meets a 41-year-old woman online who he sexually assaults while she cleans his bathroom.
• 2019: Hertfordshire Police receive a report of assault and criminal damage involving an argument between Carrick and a woman during a domestic incident in which he is said to have grabbed her by the neck.
Neither party are supportive of police involvement and no further action is taken after the case is looked at by the domestic abuse unit.
The incident is referred to the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards and Carrick is given words of advice in relation to informing his chain of command about off-duty incidents, but it is determined he has no case to answer in relation to misconduct.
• July 2020: Carrick meets a woman on an online dating site who he goes on to rape. He causes her injuries and is verbally and physically aggressive, urinating on her and using sex toys against her will.
• July 2021: The woman reports being raped by Carrick and he is arrested by Hertfordshire Police, but no further action is taken after she withdraws the complaint.
The Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards is made aware and he is placed on restricted duties, but it is determined he has no case to answer in relation to any misconduct and in September the restriction is lifted. He never returns to full duties.
• 1 October 2021: A 50-year-old woman reports being raped by Carrick in September 2020. He is arrested, charged and suspended by the Met.
October 2021-2022: Publicity around the case prompts another 12 women to come forward with allegations against Carrick.
• 16 December 2022: Carrick pleads guilty to 43 offences at the Old Bailey. His pay is stopped by the Met.
• 16 January 2023: He admits a further six charges at Southwark Crown Court.
No opportunities to stop rapist identified by police so far
Sal Naseem from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said police have not identified any opportunities they had to stop Carrick earlier.
Two former Met Officers who dealt with the 2002 allegation of assault and harassment may have committed misconduct in their handling of the accusations, but as the pair have now retired and cannot face misconduct proceedings, the IOPC decided it was not in the public interest to take further action.
