Police chiefs will get greater powers to sack rogue officers from April, a minister has revealed.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley pushed for the changes after a string of scandals left the Met’s reputation in tatters. He was appointed last year following cases such as serial rapist PC David Carrick and the murder of Sarah Everard by another Met firearms officer.
Sir Mark has estimated there were hundreds of bad apples in his force but the rules meant he was powerless to dismiss them.
In the House of Lords, Home Office minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom said new measures were expected to become law around April. He added: “Wider misconduct vetting and performance measures are expected to be introduced around June.” He was replying to Tory Lord Lexden who asked why it was taking so long.
He said: “I called on the Government exactly a year ago to give Sir Mark Rowley the stronger disciplinary powers for which he was asking, in order to root out crime and serious abuse in the Met which so shocks our country.”
Labour’s home affairs spokesman in the Lords, Lord Coaker, added: “It is going to take two years to deal with the approximately 1,000 police officers who are either suspended or on restricted duties.
“The public have to know that those officers are dealt with quickly and speedily according to new misconduct regulations, because the current ones seriously don’t work.”
