LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — London’s police force failed to carry out proper checks when hiring thousands of officers, an internal review has found, as the Government announced Thursday an inquiry into its vetting practices.

Dozens of officers who were hired after vetting checks were lowered went on to commit crimes or misconduct, including two who were later convicted as serial rapists, the review revealed.

The Metropolitan Police (Met), Britain’s largest force, blamed the lapses on increased pressure to meet recruitment targets between 2019 and 2023.

The force has been shaken by a string of scandals in recent years, including the convictions of several serving officers for sexual offences.

A landmark report in 2023 found the Met was “institutionally” racist, sexist and homophobic.

David Carrick, one of the United Kingdom’s (UK) worst sex offenders who was jailed for life in 2023 was not properly vetted in 2017, when the hiring checks failed to uncover an allegation of domestic abuse against him.

Another officer, Cliff Mitchell, later convicted of rape, was allowed to join the force in 2020 after a vetting panel overturned a decision to reject his application — despite a previous allegation of raping a child.

The vetting panel, which has now been disbanded, was in part set up to improve diversity. Between 2019 and 2023, it overturned rejections of 114 people — 25 of whom went on to commit a misconduct or be accused of a crime.

“The policing inspectorate will carry out an urgent independent inspection into the Metropolitan Police’s recruitment and vetting standards,” the interior ministry said in a statement after the review was published.

“Abandoning vetting checks on officers was a dereliction of the Met’s duty to keep London safe,” interior minister Shabana Mahmood said.

Met Assistant Commissioner Rachel Williams said the report was part of the force’s push to be “open and transparent about past vetting and recruitment practices” that in some cases led to “unsuitable people” joining the force.