What Should the Met Police Do Next?

 by Isobel Firth and Meg Ampim

WARNING: This article mentions content that readers may find disturbing.

What have the Met Police done?

Over the past few years many stories have surfaced about the misconduct of the Met Police; as a result the trust in the Met Police has fallen. In this article we will look at what the Met Police have done and what they should do next.

The Met Police have made countless mistakes, but a major issue was raised when several rape cases were dropped due to a freezer containing vital forensic evidence breaking down. An anonymous officer reported that three officers were required to close the freezer because they held a significant amount of forensic evidence. The officer also stated that ordinary fridges were used to contain the evidence, despite it damaging the information.

One of the worst cases of the Met Police’s misconduct is when Sarah Everard was kidnapped and murdered by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens. This was a catalyst of further accusations against the met police. Afterwards there was a vigil which was broken up because of Covid restrictions, the police faced a lot of criticism after they forcibly broke it apart injuring multiple people before arresting them. In 2022 it was revealed that it was a breach of that right of freedom of speech.

Another issue that was raised was the mistreatment of officers within the Met Police. It was reported that a Sikh officer’s beard was cut because another officer found it amusing, while another had his turban hidden in a shoebox. Another reported case was that a Muslim officer found pieces of bacon stuffed in his shoes. He did not speak of this at the time, in fear of retaliation. One horrific accusation was that female junior officers were forced to eat cheesecakes until they threw up, revealed another anonymous officer.

How are the Met Police planning to change?

The new commissioner for the Met Police, Sir Mark Rowley, has published his plan on how the Metropolitan police force are planning to change. His main points are to:

 

• Raise standards show communities that the Police can respect them

• Establish an Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command 

• Be relentlessly data driven and Evidence based

• The strongest ever Neighbourhood Policing 

• Do more to protect children, as well as target men who are violent against women and girls

• Provide a better service for Victims

Whether or not these targets are met only time will tell. It is clear that the Met Police force has a long way to go but they will only achieve these goals if they change not just the way they treat the public but also their own police officers.