Police chiefs asked to check all officers after Carrick crimes

POLICE chiefs across England and Wales have been asked to have all officers checked against national police databases by the end of March in the wake of the "abhorrent" crimes of David Carrick.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said its chair, Martin Hewitt, wrote to all chief constables on Friday, asking them to take "immediate action" and complete the checks by March 31.

The Home Office ordered the checks after former Metropolitan Police officer Carrick admitted 49 criminal charges, including 24 counts of rape.

Forces are expected to have identified all cases for further investigation by September - with inquiries to be prioritised based on the threat and risk identified.

The NPCC said the final stage of the process will be to develop a new automated platform to carry out continuous national police database checks.