Former Met Officer Accused of On-Duty Transgressions
A former Metropolitan Police officer is facing allegations of serious professional misconduct, including claims that he hired sex workers while he was supposed to be on duty.
Imran Patel, an ex-police constable, is also accused of accessing adult websites during his shifts. The alleged incidents are said to have taken place on a single day, May 5, 2022.
Patel, who resigned from the force last year, will appear before a misconduct hearing scheduled to run from January 7 to 9, 2025. The hearing could conclude that he committed gross misconduct.
A Catalogue of Allegations
The claims against the former officer extend beyond the sexual misconduct. Patel is also accused of committing fraud by allegedly using his position to take money and a driving licence from a member of the public in 2021.
In a separate incident, a police-issue stab vest was reportedly found at his home in 2022. He is alleged to have had no lawful reason for possessing the protective equipment outside of his duties.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which led the investigation, confirmed that Patel will not face criminal charges. An IOPC spokesperson stated: "We did criminally investigate the officer over an allegation of theft but, in January 2024, decided not to refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service."
Broader Context for the Met Police
These allegations emerged while Baroness Casey was conducting her landmark 2022 review into the standards and culture of the Metropolitan Police.
That report, commissioned in the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, found the force to be institutionally racist, homophobic, and misogynistic.
The case against Patel represents another scandal for the capital's police force, which has been under intense scrutiny since Couzens' crimes. More recently, a BBC Panorama investigation alleged sexist attitudes at Charing Cross police station, leading to ten officers facing accelerated misconduct hearings.
