Who we are

We are eight of the victim/survivors of David Carrick, a former Metropolitan Police officer. He was convicted of multiple criminal offences including rape, sexual abuse, coercive and controlling behaviour, and false imprisonment against us and others during his employment as a police officer.

He has been described as one of the UK’s worst ever sex offenders.

He used his position as a police officer to trap us, abuse us, and silence us.

Summary 

Despite being aware of multiple allegations of offences against women, the Metropolitan Police Service (Met) recruited, promoted and, in our view, protected serial sex offender Carrick. This allowed him to rape and abuse women over a 17 year period. 

We, the victims, and you, the public, deserve answers and to know that this will never happen again. That is why we are bringing a civil claim and why we are asking for your help to do so.

Our case 

In 2023, Met officer David Carrick pleaded guilty to 85 serious offences against women, including 48 rapes. The Met have now made a number of public statements recognising that Carrick should never have been a police officer and had used his position to abuse us. 

It was through these public statements that we learned, for the first time, that the Met were aware of numerous allegations against Carrick. We learned that some of these incidents took place before being accepted as a police officer, and then during his probation period. Despite this, he was deemed fit and proper not only to become a police officer and remain one, but to hold a firearm and work in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command. This is the command of the police which guards parliament and Number 10. 

No one had told us this before. We heard it on the news, like everyone else. We learned that Carrick could have been stopped, before he abused us or anyone else.

Learning that he could have been stopped, but that the police failed to act, was devastating. Having been focused on the horrific crimes of Carrick and having him prosecuted, we are now focused on the wrongdoing of the Met: this must not be allowed to happen again.

We do not know each other. But individually, over the course of a year, we approached Centre for Women’s Justice, a legal charity which brings cases against the police for failings in the investigation of rape and sexual assault. They have now joined our concerns and act for us in a civil claim against the Met. The claim will argue that our human rights have been breached, and that the police were negligent in their handling of Carrick’s employment in the face of multiple allegations of violence. A letter of claim has been sent, and we are awaiting a response. 

As well as seeking justice, we want to use this case to get answers. So far, we only have partial answers, most of which we read about in the press.

We need to understand exactly who knew what and when, and what they ought to have done. We want to use the case to examine the system of vetting for police officers, scrutinise the policies and procedures around recruitment and suggest better ways forward. We want to bring this case to make sure no one else suffers what we have.

What we need

Our solicitors at CWJ are not charging us for the work they are doing in this case. But as a charity, they do not have the additional funds to cover the expenses we need to be able to bring the case in full. We cannot afford these expenses ourselves. 

As part of the claim, we are required to show the damage that we have suffered. That includes, among other expenses, instructing a specialist trauma psychologist to examine our medical records and conduct examinations of us, and then prepare an in-depth report, setting out the damage caused by what we have been through. It is hard to know exactly how much this will cost, but the estimate is around £2000 - £3000 each. 

One of us also requires an approved translator for the complex legal documents, to be able to fully participate in the proceedings. 

As such, we are asking for donations, to enable us to bring this claim. We will provide updates when we can, and will push to ensure that changes are made in the Met, as part of the case. We would be very grateful for any help you can provide. 

Please note that if the case is successful, the Metropolitan Police will have to re-pay these expenses. If that happens, we would like the funds raised to be donated to CWJ, to enable them to continue their free legal work for others like us. 

Thank you for supporting us.

Read more:

• Sentencing Remarks
• CWJ website