In an effort to combat wrongdoing and increase their access to technology, metropolitan police officers will be handed smartphones.
One of the first programmes under new commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s administration to be started was the effort to “retake” the scandal-plagued force’s “integrity.” Sir Mark Rowley made that promise earlier this month.
The Times reports that as a result of the decision, every officer will be able to interact with one another and gather evidence using the new iPhones.
Thousands of police officers were formerly required to use their own smartphones to take notes on evidence at crime scenes and carry out routine investigations.
It comes after a series of high-profile misconduct investigations in which it was discovered that some police officers had shared images of crime scenes and sent improper communications using their personal mobile devices.
Officers Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis were sentenced to nearly three years in prison in December of last year after it was discovered that they had photographed and exchanged pictures from a crime scene.
Deniz Jaffer (left) and Jamie Lewis (right) were police constables assigned to guard the murder
The two were accused of “dehumanising” the two black victims, Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, by posting images of their corpses in two WhatsApp groups, according to the court.
The fatalities were referred to as “death birds” in texts sent to 41 police officers and Jaffer’s acquaintances, who also received additional communications.
Outrage also followed the publication by a watchdog earlier this year of a slew of troubling racist, sexist, and homophobic comments exchanged by Charing Cross police station personnel between 2016 and 2018.
The brutal, poisonous “boys club” mentality among the officers at Charing Cross police station was made public in a shocking report by the IOPC inspector.
It was discovered that in WhatsApp conversations, officers made ugly racial and domestic violence-related boasts in addition to joking about rape.
The watchdog’s findings also included graphic messages exchanged by cops about raping women, murdering black children, paedophilia, Muslims, Auschwitz, and handicapped people.
Giving officers work cellphones, according to sources, would not only increase their access to technology but also enable top management to monitor what their officers are doing.
Earlier this month, Sir Mark Rowley and Dame Lynne Owens, his new deputy, took the oath of loyalty to the King and vowed to restore public confidence.
In what is undoubtedly one of the most tumultuous moments for Britain’s largest police department, the new chief of the Metropolitan Police begins his or her duties.
In an attestation, Sir Mark took an oath promising to carry out his duties “with fairness, honesty, diligence, and impartiality, preserving basic human rights, and grant equal respect to all individuals.”
After Dame Cressida Dick’s contentious resignation from her position as Commissioner at Scotland Yard earlier this year, he was appointed to the position.
Sir Mark has been tasked with restoring public faith in the police after a string of scandals and mistakes in recent years.
The effort was a “totally fantastic” step, the leader of the Metropolitan Police Federation told the Times.
“The expense [of utilising gadgets] should not be paid by the employee,” said Ken Marsh.
This will bring the Met into the 21st century in 2022 and provide officers immediate access and communication tools.
A watchdog earlier this year imposed extraordinary sanctions on the police.
Before Sir Mark’s term started, then-home secretary Priti Patel requested in a harsh letter that he rectify the “appalling errors of the past.”
Earlier this month, she wrote to Sir Mark with the following expectations: “I expect the Metropolitan Police under your direction to get the fundamentals right and offer the first-class service required of it.”
I also anticipate you, as Commissioner, to encourage improved management and greater standards across the board for the whole force.
A guy who drowned in Kingston after attempting to swim away from police to escape being detained and Chris Kaba, who was tragically shot by an officer in Streatham Hill, are other difficulties confronting Sir Mark. Oladeji Omishore, who died after falling from Chelsea Bridge, was one of them.