Nottinghamshire Police officers face ‘tough times’ with public confidence as Met Police officers are convicted

Nottinghamshire's Police and Crime Commissioner says local officers face "tough times" as public confidence in law enforcement comes under pressure following crimes and scandals uncovered inside the Metropolitan Police.

Reports showed public confidence in Nottinghamshire Police dropped slightly following the murder of Sarah Everard by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.

The Metropolitan Police is Greater London's police service, covering law and order in the capital and governed by the Mayor of London.

Couzens posed as an on-duty officer enforcing lockdown restrictions before kidnapping, raping and killing Ms Everard – leading to national protests on women's safety and policing, including some events in Nottingham.

Last March, a Police and Crime Survey found public confidence in Notts Police dropped by 1.3 per cent in the space of a year, with 58.5 per cent of people surveyed having confidence in the force.

Further recent crimes by Met officers which have come to light include those of David Carrick, who committed dozens of rapes over a 17-year period despite passing several vetting processes.

Serial rapist Carrick was sentenced to life in prison including at least 30 years behind bars at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday morning (February 7).

Both incidents have led to local concerns Nottinghamshire Police officers could have their reputations tarnished by "bad apples" in other forces.

The cases were discussed by Nottinghamshire's Police and Crime Panel on Tuesday morning amid the new reports about trust and confidence in the force.

Cllr Scott Carlton (Con) was Nottinghamshire County Council's representative on the panel and said: "As we're speaking, David Carrick has been sentenced … to a very long time [in jail].

"However, with reference to Sarah Everard and other cases, it really concerns me that we may have a potential issue with how the force is seen overall.

"There's always potentially going to be a bad apple but it can be perceived that every one of them is corrupt, an offender or a risk to society.

"Has there been anecdotal evidence of officers reporting to their superiors to say: 'I know I'm a good officer, I know I'm working hard and keeping people safe, but I feel like I'm beginning to be tarnished with the same brush'?

"I know it's important we call out these incidents but, sometimes, I think if I was in those shoes I'd think 'I don't want to do this anymore'."

In response, Caroline Henry (Con), Nottinghamshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, agreed that it is "really tough times" for the county's officers.

However, she reassured councillors the force is working to keep the public safe.

She said: "I'm talking with police officers all the time and it's really frustrating for them when they're working so hard to keep people safe.

"It's really tough times for them and I really feel for them when they're working so hard."

Cllr David Ellis (Lab), vice-chair of the panel and Gedling Borough Council's representative, added that the Metropolitan Police is on a "different planet".

"I suspect a lot of the confidence and misogyny is people confusing various police forces," he said.

"I do try and reassure myself that a lot of the stuff coming out about the Metropolitan Police is because it's on a different planet to the rest of the police.

"But it is hard to disentangle what happens here with what we see on the television."

It comes after Nottinghamshire Police was graded as 'good' for its vetting, misconduct and misogyny policies following a national inspection.

Twenty-four out of 28 national recommendations aimed at improving these three areas were already existing practices when inspectors visited in March 2022.

These aim to flag issues with potential new candidates and ensure checks aren't missed during recruitment.

The force also confirmed it dismissed 32 officers in the two most recent recorded years following misconduct hearings, mostly for "honesty and integrity issues".

In 2016 Nottinghamshire Police became the first force in the UK to record certain forms of public harassment of women – such as groping, using explicit language or more serious offences such as assault – as potential misogyny hate crimes.