We should not be surprised at the Casey report into misconduct in the Metropolitan police (Huge failings kept hundreds of corrupt officers in the force, admits Met chief, 17 October). All forces suffer from the idea that all things are permissible if it leads to the desired ends of the police. This idea is not synonymous with the ends of justice, which acquits the innocent, protects the public and convicts the guilty – in that order of importance.
The root of the problem lies in the fact that there is no independent oversight with the power to prosecute. Even the Independent Office for Police Conduct is partly staffed with former police officers, ostensibly because their experience will help its operations. This perpetuates the problem of the police marking their own homework.
David Adams
Darlington, County Durham
• Perhaps there is a clue to the failure of the Met to clean up its poor reputation for professional standards in the second case study published alongside your report. The officer in question has received two final written warnings.
Katherine Hind
Stocksfield, Northumberland
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