Wayne Couzens was the 27th Metropolitan Police officer to be convicted of a sex crime in just five years.
Staggeringly, five have carried out sex offences while on duty since 2010 and one individual was recruited last year despite a conviction for indecent exposure, according to a new investigation.
Couzens was sentenced to a whole life tariff for the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard, a crime that has shocked the nation and disgraced the country’s largest police force.
Information obtained by the Sunday Mirror has revealed he is far from the only individual employed to keep London’s streets safe who has committed dangerous offences.
Since 2016, another 26 officers have been convicted of crimes including rape, possession of indecent images and voyeurism.
The paper said 150 serving officers have convictions for other offences, ranging from assault to drugs.
The records, obtained via a Freedom of Information request, raise serious questions about recruitment processes in the force.
An investigation has been launched into why a previous investigation into Couzens was not flagged during his vetting process to join the Met.
Boris Johnson today declined to call for a public inquiry into why Couzens, a man nicknamed ‘the rapist’ by some colleagues, was allowed to serve in the force.
Labour MP and former home secretary Harriet Harman said commissioner Cressida Dick should resign, adding ‘women’s confidence in the police has been shattered’.
It also emerged today Couzens was deployed to the House of Commons as part of his duties in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, the Mail reports.
House of Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle has demanded a meeting with the Met ‘to discuss how this person could have been deemed suitable for deployment here’.
In response to the Mirror’s investigation, a Met Police spokesperson told the Sunday Mirror ‘the overwhelming majority of those convicted of criminal offences leave the service’.
They continued: ‘Factors when considering applications from people with convictions include age of the applicant at the time of the offence, the number of years that have elapsed since the offence and the nature of the offence.
‘As we’d all expect, the vast majority of officers uphold the law at all times, both at work and in their personal lives.
‘Whenever a serving officer is convicted of any offence, the case is thoroughly reviewed and, where appropriate, the officer is also subjected to a misconduct process.’
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