More than 1,000 police officers suspended or on restricted duties, Met reveals

More than 1,000 Metropolitan Police officers are currently suspended or on restricted duties, the force has revealed.

About 60 officers could face the sack each month over at least the next two years, Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy told reporters.

There are “undoubtedly hundreds” of staff the Met Police has “real concerns about”, Mr Cundy said.

Some of those facing criminal charges are not expected to go to trial before 2025, the force has said.

Some 275 officers are awaiting gross misconduct hearings – a significant proportion of which involve alleged violence against women and girls.

The Met has about 34,000 officers, of whom 201 are suspended, with 860 on restricted duties.

Admitting the figures are “stark”, Mr Cundy said: “That’s over 1,000 police officers – nearly the size of a small police force in other places in the country.

“It is a significant number, which is why the commissioner and I, and others, know we need to do things as quickly as we can.”

He added: “This is going to take one, two or more years to root out those who are corrupt.”

How do you sack a police officer – and how long does it take?

Officers can be investigated or sacked as a result of public complaints or a referral to the police watchdog – the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The IOPC automatically becomes involved in serious complaints – when interaction with the police has resulted in death or serious injury, an assault or a sexual offence, or when there are allegations of serious corruption.

Most complaints are dealt with by the force themselves – through their professional standards departments.

In any case, a complaint handler contacts the complainant within three weeks to acquire all the relevant information and must keep them updated on progress every 28 days until the matter is resolved.

Internal complaints may result in officers getting extra training, supervision or the force apologising.

IOPC investigations can also result in further training – or a misconduct or gross misconduct hearing.

While investigations and hearings take place, officers are often suspended or put on restricted duties, mostly in non-public-facing roles.

These are carried out by the force and will either result in a written warning, final written warning, reduction on rank (restricted duties) or dismissal.

There is currently no statutory time limit for disciplinary proceedings to take place after accusations are made – although the Police Federation is calling for this to be a year.

Sacking rogue officers to be made easier

In the last year, 100 Met Police officers have been sacked for gross misconduct – up 66% on the normal rate.

The number of reports from the public and officers of alleged misconduct has doubled.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman has announced plans to make it easier for police chiefs to sack rogue officers.

They include bringing in a presumption that those found to have committed gross misconduct will be sacked.

The Met’s update arrives six months after a review by Baroness Louise Casey found the Met was institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic and may contain more officers like killer Wayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick.

After Carrick was given a life sentence for dozens of sexual offences, 1,600 cases were reviewed in which officers had faced allegations of domestic or sexual violence over the past 10 years but no action was taken.

There are currently about 450 live investigations ongoing into cases that were reviewed.

‘Dark corner’ of Met

Baroness Casey also said the Met’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command – in which Couzens and Carrick both served – was a “dark corner” of the Met and should be disbanded.

A review of the police squad – comprising around 1,000 officers – has now been completed, with the Met saying a third of its workforce had been replaced.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor said the ambition was to have two-thirds of the unit made up of new staff by December 2025.

Meanwhile, officers will no longer be able to remain in the squad indefinitely, but will instead be rotated round to other parts of the Met every eight years.

Mr Taylor said unhealthy work cultures had developed in the unit, partly due to a lack of diversity, poor leadership and a sense of disconnection from the rest of the force.

“The officers need to be better supervised, they need to be better trained, and they need to be better equipped,” he added.

Meanwhile, a former Met Police officer will appear in court on Wednesday to face charges linked to alleged corruption.

Ishmael Donegan, 26, is due before Westminster Magistrates’ Court accused of four counts of misconduct in public office.

The charges relate to allegations between 2019 and 2022 that they misused police computer systems, including unlawfully accessing information to notify an external party.

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