PC Adnan Arib, based on the Central East Command Unit, was arrested following a proactive operation by officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards who had information he had arranged to meet a 15-year-old.
He was immediately suspended from duty and, following an independent investigation led by the IOPC, charged with two counts of misconduct in public office.
On Thursday, 3 March, he was sentenced to two years in prison, after previously being found guilty at Southwark Crown Court.
Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett, in charge of policing for Hackney and Tower Hamlets, said: “Officers like PC Arib are not welcome in our Met and the sentence handed to him today reflects the seriousness of his actions. Now that the criminal case has concluded we will move to misconduct proceedings as soon as possible.
“The communities we serve come to us in need of help and at times of great distress. It is our duty to do so in the most protective and professional way and we will not stand for anyone who fails to take this responsibility seriously.
“The trust of the public is fundamental to our core purpose of keeping London safe. We only want the best and I hope this demonstrates that we will always act when our employees fall below the exemplary standards we and the public expect.”
Between March and July 2019, PC Arib made inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old and a 16-year-old girl who he had met through the course of his duties.
In each case he entered into text conversations with the girls and asked if they wanted to meet. He then proceeded to meet up with the 15-year-old who later reported the incident to a third party.
We cannot and are not waiting for the findings of ongoing inquiries to begin rebuilding the public’s trust and confidence that police officers will protect and respect them. We have already taken a number of significant steps to start real change across the organisation. These include two independent reviews, an examination of all current investigations of sexual and domestic abuse allegations against Met employees and an increase in the number of investigators in our professional standards directorate.
The Met is driven by the values of professionalism, integrity, courage and compassion. We only want the best and will always act when our employees fall below the exemplary standards we and the public expect.
