The Met can’t clean up its act without reform
The Metropolitan Police is the country’s biggest force and would normally be an attractive proposition for an ambitious senior officer to lead. Yet since the resignation of Dame Cressida Dick earlier this year, the job of Commissioner has remained unfilled, with some likely candidates ruling themselves out of the running.
Now it transpires that the Met has been put in “special measures” by the police watchdog, which cited “substantial and persistent concerns” about performance, including a failure to stamp out corruption and properly investigate crime. The Met was said to be “not succeeding in managing, mitigating or eradicating” shortcomings that had been identified. The abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer who should have been investigated for earlier sexual activities had “a chilling effect on public trust and confidence”, the watchdog said.
The special measures mean the Met will be subject to greater scrutiny and more outside help to address the issues. Arguably, the force – or service, as it prefers to be called – is facing a crisis similar to that which engulfed Scotland Yard in the late 1960s and led to the appointment of Sir Robert Mark as commissioner to clean up its act. As an “outsider” he had to stamp his authority on the force and was credited with restoring public trust in the capital’s policing. The next commissioner will need similar resolve and determination.
However, there is also a case to be made that the Met is too unwieldy in its current form to be properly led and needs to be split into different command structures. It is not just responsible for crime fighting – a task it does not seem to be doing that well – but also for counter terrorism, and has the seat of government to protect as well. This means that political responsibility is shared between Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, and Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor.
Some have suggested the counter-terrorism functions should be hived off to the National Crime Agency, which is also searching for a new head, although that might blunt its effectiveness against organised gangs. The NCA is often referred to as Britain’s FBI but does not perform the same role as its US counterpart. There is always a danger in creating too many different layers of policing but the time has come for a serious look at the structure of the Met to judge whether its very size contributes to its poor performance.