Following a string of scandals that marred Cressida Dick’s term, the Metropolitan Police was today abruptly placed under special measures for the first time ever due to worries about “severe or significant inadequacies.”
Sir Stephen House, the acting commissioner, will now have to collaborate with Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, to create a corrective plan that the police inspectorate will evaluate.
To ensure the necessary adjustments are being made, top officials will thereafter be expected to frequently meet with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.
In a letter, HMICFRS listed a number of mishaps at the biggest force in Britain, including the killing of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, the ‘racially targeted’ stop and search of Team GB sprinter Bianca Williams, and the strip-search of Child Q, a 15-year-old black schoolgirl.
It comes after other controversies, such as the inadequate investigation of serial murderer Stephen Port and the discovery of racist WhatsApp messages exchanged between Charing Cross Police Station personnel.
Other tragedies were the imprisonment of two cops for photographing the bodies of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, murdered sisters, and Operation Midland, the botched investigation into fictitious allegations of VIP pedophilia.
Videos of police dancing with protestors sparked accusations that the force was not taking the Extinction Rebellion rallies seriously, and the force received harsh criticism for failing to prevent London from being shut down.
‘We can confirm that we are currently monitoring the Metropolitan Police Service through our Engage process, which gives additional scrutiny and support to help it make changes,’ said an HMICFRS spokesman.
A force enters the engage process, according to the policing watchdog’s website, if it “is not reacting to a cause of concern, or if it is not succeeding in controlling, reducing, or eliminating the source of concern.”
“Forces will build an improvement plan in the Engage phase to address the particular cause(s) of concern that have caused them to be put in the advanced phase of the monitoring process,” it continues. Through HMICFRS’ mediation, the force may obtain assistance from outside groups like the National Police Chiefs’ Council or the College of Policing.
The decision was made at a difficult moment for the police as previous commissioner of the Met Police, Dame Cressida Dick, resigned from her position in April.
Her successor, Sir Stephen House, who now serves as interim commissioner, is anticipated to be announced in the summer.
The two candidates left in the running to replace Dame Cressida are assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave and Sir Mark Rowley, the former head of counterterrorism.
It is also the second force to be placed on special measures in recent years. The watchdog placed Greater Manchester Police on the ‘engage’ process in 2020 after it failed to report 80,000 crimes.
Priti Patel welcomed today’s move, and said she expected the new commissioner to ‘demonstrate sustained improvements’ in the force in order to regain public trust.
“I expect the police to get the fundamentals right,” the Home Secretary stated. The Metropolitan Police Service is obviously failing to live up to these standards, which is why I applaud the action that HMICFRS has taken today to draw attention to them. I also expect the Met and the London Mayor to start correcting these inadequacies right away.
At this point, forces formulate a “improvement plan” to address the problem, and they are obligated to regularly communicate with inspectors to ensure that the improvements are being implemented. Additionally, it could accomplish certain goals.
The Met was immediately raised to “engage,” indicating that HMICFRS is very worried about its performance.
‘We can confirm that we are currently monitoring the Metropolitan Police Service through our Engage process, which gives additional scrutiny and support to help it make changes,’ said an HMICFRS spokesman.
“The search for a new Commissioner is well under way, and I have made it clear that the chosen candidate must show consistent improvements in the Metropolitan Police Service in order to win back the public’s trust in London and throughout the nation.
‘The new Commissioner will need to deliver on the public’s priorities for the police – making our streets safer, bearing down on crime and bringing more criminals to justice, while continuing to recruit thousands of new officers to protect local communities.’
London mayor Sadiq Khan – who previously withdrew his support for Dame Cressida after urging for improvements to be made – also welcomed the decision.
‘A series of appalling scandals have not only exposed deep cultural problems but have damaged the confidence of Londoners in the capital’s police service,’ he said in a statement.
‘The decision by the HMIC to now move the Met into special measures has laid bare the substantial performance failings by the force.
‘As I have been saying for some time, Londoners deserve better. That’s why we now need to see nothing less than a new contract forged between the police and the public in London.
‘This means root and branch reforms and systemic change to the Met’s performance and culture.’
The family of Child Q, who was strip-searched, said Scotland Yard has let the public down repeatedly.
They said in a statement: ‘We welcome the decision of HMICFRS to place the Metropolitan Police into special measures.
‘The Metropolitan Police has shown time and again that it cannot do its job properly and its officers’ actions have had life-changing, devastating consequences for innocent people across London, including Child Q. It is no wonder that there is little to no faith left in the Metropolitan Police.
‘We hope the additional scrutiny of special measures will result in permanent change in the force’s culture and practices.’
A spokesman for the Met said: ‘We recognise the cumulative impact of events and problems that the Met is dealing with.
‘We understand the impact this has had on communities and we share their disappointment. We are determined to be a police service Londoners can be proud of. We are talking to the Inspectorate about next steps.’
