Convicted rapist and ex-police officer stripped of pension

Former police officer and convicted rapist, David Carrick, has been stripped of the state-funded employer contributions that had been paid into his Metropolitan Police pension.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced that Carrick will lose 65 per cent of his Metropolitan Police pension, the legal maximum.

According to case law and in line with Home Office guidance, police officers convicted of crimes can only have the employer contributions of their workplace pension withdrawn, not their employee contributions, if their conviction was connected to their service in the police force.

Carrick was jailed in February after pleading guilty to 49 offences, including 24 counts of rape, between 2003 and 2020.

He was sentenced to at least 30 years in prison and sacked from the police force.

"David Carrick blatantly abused his position of trust as a police officer to carry out his appalling crimes," Khan stated.

"I have been very clear that steps should be taken to remove the employer contributions of his Met Police pension."

Under Regulation 6(1)(c) of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Assignment, Forfeiture, Bankruptcy etc) Regulations 1997, any public service occupational pension scheme can be forfeited where the member is convicted of an offence committed in connection with their service as a public servant, and a Minister of the Crown certifies that the commission of that offence has been “gravely injurious” to the interests of the state or is liable to lead to serious loss of confidence in the public service.

If Carrick is released, he can still receive 35 per cent of his pension, which were made by him as the employee.

In February 2023, in relation to a separate but similar case, Khan wrote to the then Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, calling for the pension forfeiture rules to be strengthened, so that a criminal offence does not have to be committed ‘in connection’ with their service in order for an officer to lose their pension.



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