After the failing Met was put into special measures following a disastrous inspection that exposed a long list of fresh problems, including 69,000 crimes going unreported annually, Priti Patel ordered Sadiq Khan to take “urgent action” to turn things around.
For its “barely sufficient standard of crime recording accuracy, with less than half of crime recorded within 24 hours and almost no crimes recorded when victims allege antisocial behavior against them,” Scotland Yard was criticized.
Her Majesty’s Inspector Matt Parr cautioned in a leaked letter to Acting Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Stephen House that the string of scandals and “systemic concerns” about the performance of the force are “likely to have a chilling impact on public faith and confidence in the Met.”
According to Mr. Parr, victims were not informed when police were dropping their case, they did not receive the necessary help, and police did not consult with victims before finalizing crime reports.
He continued by criticizing the Met for having “an inadequately thorough awareness of demand” and “the lack of a clear understanding of capacity and capability across all sectors of policing.”
The action led to a disagreement between Miss Patel and Mr. Khan. “I support the steps that HMICFRS has taken today to highlight their inadequacies,” the Home Secretary said in a statement.
“I expect the Met and the London Mayor to take prompt measures to begin resolving them.”
Due to the extraordinary action, the Metropolitan Police will be under external scrutiny and will need to develop an improvement strategy.
The damning indictment comes after Commissioner Cressida Dick was forced to resign in February as a result of a year-long string of scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by one of her officers, the force’s designation as “institutionally corrupt,” and the imprisonment of two officers for taking pictures of dead murder victims.
According to a fresh inspection that found “systemic concerns” about the force’s performance, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) declared that the force needs to be placed under special measures.
Her Majesty’s Inspector Matt Parr criticized the force’s performance in handling 999 and non-emergency calls in the new inspection, saying it was “falling far short of national standards,” with staff failing to assess vulnerability, identify repeat victims, and not offering advice about preserving evidence to catch offenders.
The full results of the new inspection have not yet been made public.
According to Mr. Parr, victims were not informed when police were dropping their case, they did not receive the necessary help, and police did not consult with victims before finalizing crime reports.
He continued by criticizing the Metropolitan Police for having “an inadequately thorough awareness of demand” and “the lack of a clear understanding of capacity and capability across all sectors of policing.”
Yesterday, a document from the police inspectorate that was released indicated that the force is consistently failing victims.
The latest yearly examination revealed:
Every year, around 69,000 offenses go unreported, and nearly no anti-social behavior-related crimes are.
National standards are not being met while handling 999 calls.
Some investigations don’t have enough oversight or supervision.
In 25% of cases, police officers improperly record the basis for a stop and search.
The force’s capacity is insufficient to meet the demand for public safety.
A ‘persistently significant backlog’ of online reports of child abuse exists.
After two teenage girls were strip searched by cops while they were menstruating, eight referrals about strip searches of youngsters were submitted to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), according to Scotland Yard last week.
Mr. Parr also emphasized the serial killer Stephen Port’s four killings inquiry, which he claimed was hampered by “apparently unfathomable failings.”
He echoed a report from March in which he cautioned that Scotland Yard’s failure to combat corruption was due to the force’s “arrogant, secretive, and lax” nature.
He claimed that Scotland Yard “hasn’t always demonstrated a tremendous desire” to learn from mistakes.
The Metropolitan Police is currently one of only a select few forces that have ever been subject to special measures, sometimes known as a “engage phase” by the inspectorate.
Yesterday, Priti Patel stated, “I expect the police to get the fundamentals right. The Metropolitan Police Service is obviously failing to live up to these expectations, 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.
“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 across the nation.
“The new Commissioner will need to deliver on the public’s goals for the police — making our streets safer, clamping down on crime, and bringing more offenders to justice, while continuing to recruit thousands of additional officers to defend local communities,” said the statement.
But Mr. Khan retaliated, claiming that it was actually him who had ejected Dame Cressida. He won’t learn anything about policing from the Home Secretary, who was obviously content with the current quo and didn’t want any action to be taken, according to a source close to the mayor.
Sir Stephen has been asked to attend a meeting the following month to outline a strategy before a new commissioner is chosen.
“We are determined to provide a police force Londoners can be proud of,” a Met spokeswoman said. About the following steps, we are speaking with the Inspectorate.