Half of Met police officers convicted of criminal offences in past decade still work for the force

Jailed: Commander Ali Dizaei
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More than half of the 685 Met police officers convicted of criminal offences in the past 10 years still work for the force, figures reveal today.

The majority of the convictions are for relatively minor traffic offences but others include crimes of violence, sexual assault and theft.

A total of 685 officers have been convicted since 2005, including 72 who were guilty of violence against other people, 27 of theft and 26 for sexual offences. There were 426 traffic convictions, which included 108 cases of drink-driving, 136 of speeding, 103 of driving without due care and four for using a mobile phone at the wheel. Five officers have been convicted of causing death by dangerous driving. The figures, released by the Met under freedom of information rules, show that 343 convicted officers remain employed, the “overwhelming majority” of whom have committed relatively minor traffic offences.

The statistics also showed that nine officers were convicted for corruption in 10 years and eight for perjury.

There were no officers convicted of burglary or robbery and just three were convicted for drugs offences. The Met said the figures showed the vast majority of officers uphold the law and that fewer than one in 500 officers in any year received convictions of any kind.

The majority of officers convicted of more serious crimes left the force but traffic convictions were not usually treated as gross misconduct, which can lead to dismissal, a spokesman said.

He said: “Every day, the honest and hard-working men and women who make up the Met carry out their duties ethically and professionally.

“When the behaviour of our staff does fall below the standard the public and the Met expects of them, then action is taken. It is important to put this in context — in an organisation of more than 30,000 police officers, less than 1.5 per cent have a criminal conviction, and this includes those convicted of traffic offences such as speeding.”

The highest-ranking officer convicted was Ali Dizaei, a former commander, who was dismissed in 2012 on his release from a jail term for misconduct in public office and perverting the course of justice. He was found guilty of framing a young businessman in a street row over an unpaid bill. That same year, a counter-terrorism officer was jailed for misconduct in a public office for trying to sell information about the phone-hacking inquiry to the News of the World. Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn, 53, was sentenced to 15 months.

Of the convictions, 213 resulted in formal action or formal misconduct proceedings, with a total of 136 officers sacked or forced to resign.

The number of officers convicted of traffic offences fell dramatically in the past 10 years, the figures showed. In 2005, 72 were convicted of traffic offences, including 26 for speeding, 21 for undue care and attention and 17 for drink-driving. Last year, 19 officers were convicted of driving offences, including three for speeding, seven for undue care and four for drink-driving.

The lowest total for all convictions was also last year, with 46, and the highest was 100 in 2005.

Road safety charity Brake said: “Police officers, who play a vital role in keeping our roads safe, have a particular responsibility to act as role models. We are pleased the number of offences has been declining in recent years.”

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