Met Police officers banned from using sex workers and must declare romantic relationships
The Metropolitan Police has banned officers from using sex workers under new guidelines.
Scotland Yard has explicitly forbidden staff from paying for sex in a bid to overhaul their vetting process.
The use of sex workers were previously dealt with under general misconduct regulations, The Sun reports.
Two senior Metropolitan Police officers were previously permitted to keep their jobs after being found to have used sex workers.
One earns most than £100,000 a year.
Officers must also declare all romantic relationships, and they must reveal any windfall over £5,000 under new tighter guidelines issued in April.
The force is aiming to restore public trust levels after a series of shocking scandals.
In 2021 officer Wayne Couzens was given a whole life order after murdering Sarah Everard.
Serial rapist David Carrick was jailed for life after pleading guilty to multiple counts of rape between 2002 and 2021.
Thousand of officers could be fired under the current plans to ‘radically overhaul’ the disciplinary system.
It’s believed the inquiry’s recommendations will make it ‘easier to sack bad officers’ and weed out anyone still serving despite being accused of sexual assault and corruption.
Government sources consider this figure to be around 2,000 based on an analysis of Metropolitan Police numbers, the Daily Mail reports.
Fresh proposals include chief constables being able to chair misconduct panels, giving them the final say on whether officers can keep their jobs or not.
On top of this, officers who do not maintain their vetting status would be automatically fired.
Under the present system, an officer who does not perform their duties faces a six-stage process before they’re dismissed. With the new rules, this would be shortened to just two stages.
The force has also revisited more than a thousand historic reports made against officers alleging sexual misconduct.
A Met spokesman said: ‘Vetting applicants is imperative if we are to ensure the right people join us.
‘But it is just as important our existing workforce continue to meet the high standards and levels of vetting rightly expected of them throughout their careers.’
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