Uniform reform

"Damning verdict on the Met!" said the Metro headline. "Condemned! Public's loss of faith in the police!" shouted the Daily Express. It was not the start to the day that Metropolitan PoliceThe name of London's police force. commissioner Mark Rowley was hoping for.

The papers were reporting on Louise CaseyA member of the UK House of Lords and a government official working in social welfare. 's report into the Met. It was commissioned after the rape and murder of Sarah EverardA woman from London who was abducted and murdered by a police officer in 2021, sparking public outrage in Britain. by police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.

Casey said that even after Everard's murder the Met failed to protect women and children.

When officers were asked to report rogueDishonest, unprincipled or acting without the permission of the group. colleagues, some warned each other to delete WhatsApp messages.

Evidence in rape cases sometimes could not be used because it had been stored in broken fridges.

A third of female officers said they had experienced sexism, and 12% had suffered sexual harassmentUnwanted attention that makes someone feel scared or upset. and assault. A gay officer who had been bullied said: "I am scared of the police. I don't trust my own organisation."

A Sikh officer had his beard trimmed, while a Muslim officer found bacon left in his boots. White officers are only 19% as likely as Black ones to face disciplinary action.

Baroness Casey said that the Met was thoroughly racist, and made too much use of force and stop-and-search powers against Black people.

A survey¹ found that public confidence in the force to do a good job for London fell from 74% to 36% between 2017 and 2022. Casey said that the Met "can now no longer presume that it has the permission of the people of London to police them".

She was referring to the "Peelian principle" of policing. This is named after the founder of the Met, Sir Robert PeelA 19th Century British prime minister, and founder of London's Metropolitan Police..

His approach has been called "unique in history and throughout the world". His main idea was that people should be encouraged to help the police instead of fearing them.  

Yes: There are plenty of police officers who do their work as they should and are not guilty of the bad things listed in the report. Mark Rowley can save the Met by bringing them to the fore.

No: Misogyny, homophobia and racism are "baked in" to the Met according to the report, and that is probably true of many forces. Police officers tend to be machoMasculine in an overly assertive or aggressive way. Usually used today in a mocking or condescending way to describe people who think that being tough is all that matters. types who enjoy pushing others around.

Or...  Only if the Met is completely overhauled by experts from outside the force. Past experience shows that it cannot be trusted to put itself right. Failing that it should be broken up.