Final warning to cops who ‘missed opportunities’ to stop serial rapist David Carrick

Two police officers who failed to adequately investigate an abuse allegation against serial rapist David Carrick have received final written warnings for misconduct.

David Tippetts, then a police sergeant and now an inspector, and PC Emma Fisher were given disciplinary hearings following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The investigation began in July last year after Wiltshire Police received a report from 2016, which apparently had not been adequately investigated.

A woman called Wiltshire Police in January 2016 to report that Carrick, who was first arrested in 2021, had abused another woman. She wanted Carrick, a serving officer in the Metropolitan Police Service, to be investigated.

PC Fisher was assigned to investigate the case. After speaking personally with the woman who made the report, PC Fisher requested that the case be closed and her superior, Sergeant Tippetts, agreed.

The IOPC said PC Fisher updated the police computer system to say the woman had indicated the case had been investigated some time previously.

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In fact, the case had not been investigated and no records of a previous investigation could be found in Wiltshire’s systems.

None of the officers checked police systems or took any further steps to investigate the case. The woman identified as the victim of the abuse was never contacted about the allegation.

Had officers searched for David Carrick’s name in Wiltshire Police’s crime records system, they would have found that he was under investigation – in a separate case – for offences against another woman which had been reported to Wiltshire Police three days earlier.

Despite being told that Carrick was a serving Metropolitan Police officer, officers did not inform the Metropolitan Police Professional Standards Directorate of the serious allegations made against him, nor did they seek advice from their own Professional Standards Department on next steps.

IOPC investigators sought the opinion of a senior detective at Wiltshire Police – who had no knowledge of the case – who said it would have been reasonable to expect these measures to be completed.

They said the CID had been informed of the allegation so detectives could re-visit the woman who made the allegation and also contact the alleged victim to see if she was willing to cooperate with the investigation.

In February 2023, Carrick was sentenced to a minimum term of 30 years in prison for 49 violent and sexual offenses, including 24 counts of rape.

IOPC regional director Mel Palmer said: “No one but David Carrick is to blame for the series of appalling crimes.”

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“However, our investigation revealed that officers at Wiltshire Police had missed an opportunity to investigate him after a report of serious abuse allegations was made years before his final arrest.”

“PC Fisher undertook minimal investigative action. She made no attempt to contact the victim of the reported crime, to advise the police of a serious allegation against one of their officers or to search for David Carrick’s name in Wiltshire Police’s systems.

“This would have shown that Carrick was already under investigation following another complaint of a serious crime three days earlier.”

“PC Fisher requested that the investigation be closed after minimal effort and her superior, Sergeant Tippetts, agreed and failed – contrary to police policy – to raise any concerns with colleagues in CID who specialise in investigating serious allegations.”

Both officers faced a hearing for gross misconduct for a possible violation of standards of police professional conduct.

The panel concluded that both officers had violated standards of conduct relating to duties and responsibilities and behaved dishonorably and that their actions constituted misconduct.

They issued both officers with final written warnings, which will be valid for a period of two years.

Craig Dibdin, Wiltshire’s deputy chief constable, said: “This is a clear case of failure by officers to properly investigate the allegations made against them.”

“This lack of service was exacerbated by the lack of adequate supervision and control by a supervisor.”

“While it would be inappropriate to comment on the IOPC’s ongoing investigation, the public will naturally have questions about what impact this inaction may have had on Carrick’s heinous crimes after 2016.”

“The people of our communities must trust us and trust that we will listen to them, investigate all allegations made against us without discrimination, and keep them fully informed of our actions.”

“I would like to apologize unreservedly to the person whose report we did not initially investigate as intended.

“We will ensure that we share any learnings from this case at an organisational level to improve the service we provide.”