Detective Inspector Tony Kirk, who was the head of local policing in Barking, said officers were having to deal with ‘hundreds of crimes every day’.
The father of final victim Jack Taylor became emotional as he gave evidence.
Detective Sergeant Peter Sweetman said Jack Taylor – Port’s fourth and final victim – had the ‘stature and appearance’ of someone who might use drugs.
Gabriel Kovari was found dead in St Margaret’s graveyard in Barking, east London.
Daniel Whitworth’s body was discovered in Barking, east London, in 2014 after he was given a fatal overdose of the drug GHB by Stephen Port.
John Pape was a friend of Gabriel Kovari, a Slovakian national given a fatal dose of the drug GHB by serial killer Stephen Port in 2014.
John Pape, a friend of murder victim Gabriel Kovari, said police routinely ignored his claims that the deaths might be linked.
Kent chef Daniel Whitworth, 21, was the third young man to be given a fatal dose of GHB by sexual predator Port during a 16-month killing spree.
Daniel Whitworth was the third young man to be given a fatal dose of GHB by sexual predator Port during a 16-month killing spree.
Sean Wilson, deputy borough commander in 2014, also apologised for comments he made about Stephen Port’s victims.
Jurors on Friday heard of the serial killer’s attempt to distance himself from the murders.
Ryan Edwards said he had suspicions about his friend and neighbour, who surrounded himself with young males and kept drugs at home.
The inquests into Stephen Port’s four victims heard evidence from a former friend who was worried about his interest in boys and his drug use.
Over 16 months, Stephen Port gave four young gay men fatal doses of the drug GHB and dumped their bodies near his flat in Barking, east London.
Chief Superintendent Andy Ewing was Barking and Dagenham Borough Commander when Anthony Walgate was killed in June 2014.
