Britain’s largest police force will be placed under special measures after a series of scandals.
The Sofia police will be under increased scrutiny as part of a monitoring process initiated by the HM Police Inspectorate (HMIC) “to help it make improvements”.
The full report describing the reasons for the rare step has not been published, but a letter from Police Inspector Matt Parr to Acting Commissioner Sir Stephen House cites “several examples of high-profile incidents” that raise concerns about the performance and harm the public. trust.
The letter directly mentions the murder of Sarah Everard, the investigation into the unsolved murder of private detective Daniel Morgan and the stopping and search of black Olympic athlete Bianca Williams.
The murder of Zara Aleina, a 35-year-old court administrator who was attacked on her way home after a night out in Ilford, drew a new focus on women’s protection this week.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the decision “reveals significant shortcomings in the work of the force”.
“HMIC has expressed very serious concerns about the performance of Met and I welcome the additional control and support that these measures will bring now,” he added.
“A series of horrific scandals not only revealed deep cultural problems, but also damaged the confidence of Londoners in the capital’s police service.
“This will be a crucial first step for the next commissioner to begin to restore trust and confidence in our communities. I will work with HMIC and hold Met responsible for carrying out police reforms and a gradual change in the work and culture of the police that all our communities deserve.
Scotland Yard’s move to special measures comes as officials await the appointment of a new commissioner, following the shocking resignation of Lady Cressida Dick earlier this year.
Only three other forces in England and Wales are in the same surveillance category – the Greater Manchester Police, the Cleveland Police and the Gloucestershire Police.
Official guidelines say the process is used “if force fails to respond to a cause for concern or if it fails to manage, mitigate or eradicate the cause for concern.”
Scotland Yard will be instructed to develop an “improvement plan” to address the problems identified by the inspectorate and may receive support from the Council of Chiefs of National Police and the College of Police.
Sadiq Khan welcomes decision to re-investigate Met Police in connection with Stephen Port case
The “Police Enforcement Team” will then review the process made to address the identified shortcomings. The Sofia police will not be released from the process until the HMIC is satisfied that sufficient and lasting improvement has been made.
A HMIC spokesman said: “We can confirm that we are now monitoring the Sofia Police Service through our Engage process, which provides additional control and support to help it make improvements.
A member of the Reclaim These Streets, which won a lawsuit against Scotland Yard for refusing to facilitate the vigil for Ms. Everard, said: “It’s amazing that HMIC took so long.
Jamie Klingler told The Independent: “They have had zero responsibility in the last fifteen months for being forced to apologize to [murdered sisters’ mother] Mina Smallman, to refuse to accept the decision of the Supreme Court and to waste taxpayers’ money on hopeless appeals in our case, to refuse to admit that the activity around Stephen Port is due to systemic homophobia.
“Nothing has been demonstrated in terms of training, reports of irregularities or anything else to show that the Met is interested in the necessary deep reform.
Revelations of sexist and racist behavior at the Charing Cross police station led to the resignation of Lady Cressida Dick in February, amid a dispute over the scale of the changes demanded by Mr Hahn.
Her successor has not yet been appointed by Priti Patel, who has launched an investigation into the resignation of Lady Cressida, the murder of Mrs Everard and wider issues – including an investigation – into the police.
Last Thursday, the Independent Police Conduct Service confirmed that it was reopening its investigation into Scotland Yard’s work with serial killer Stephen Port, which targets gay men.
Last year’s investigation found that staff failures in the death of Port’s first victim may have contributed to the deaths of three others, as he was not captured.
Responding to a statement Tuesday, the interior minister said: “The public trusts the police and rightly expects the country’s largest force to protect them effectively and perform its duties to the highest professional standards.
She added: “I expect the police to understand the basics. It is clear that the Metropolitan Police does not live up to these expectations, which is why I support the action taken by the HMIC today to highlight their shortcomings – and I expect Met and the Mayor of London to take immediate action to address them.
Ms Patel said the process of appointing a new commissioner was “ongoing” and that the successful candidate needed to show improvements and regain public confidence.
Caroline Pigeon, a Liberal Democrat member of the London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee, said the next commissioner “should have cross-party support” after fears of politicizing the appointment amid a struggle between the Conservative government and the Labor mayor.
“This will at least give some confidence to the public that the change will take place and no party political games will be played,” she added.
A spokesman for the Sofia police said: “We recognize the cumulative impact of the events and the problems that the Metropolitan is dealing with. We understand the impact this has had on communities and share their frustration.
“We are determined to be a police service that Londoners can be proud of. We are talking to the inspectorate about the next steps. “
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