The Metropolitan Police Service has been urged to review its application and recruitment process following several high-profile incidents of “serious misconduct” involving officers.
The issue was raised at a meeting of the London Assembly on June 24 by Liberal Democrat member Caroline Pidgeon, who asked the Mayor of London what he and the Met were doing to understand “why we are seeing such serious misconduct” within the force.
It follows several high-profile incidents involving Met officers in recent months, including Wayne Couzens, who pleaded guilty to the kidnap and rape of Sarah Everard, and Benjamin Hannam, who was jailed for being part of a far-right terrorist organisation.
Speaking at the Assembly, Caroline Pidgeon said: “The Met is filled with committed and dedicated officers, but I’m concerned that in recent months we’ve seen increasing reports of serious misconduct.
“We have seen officers involved in such things as taking pictures of murder victims, attempting to engage in sexual activity with a child, stealing drug money, and assault and rape. And, of course, we’ve also had the tragic events surrounding Sarah Everard and the report into the Daniel Morgan case.”
Ms Pidgeon continued by saying that the “scale and seriousness” of some recent incidents is “a huge cause for concern” and “is contributing to the fall we’ve seen in public confidence in the Met”.
In the past month alone, a Met officer has appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a woman during a welfare check, while another officer was convicted of perverting the course of justice after lying to cover up a colleague’s car crash that left a civilian with serious injuries.
Asked by Ms Pidgeon whether he shared her concerns, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan last week said that both he and “senior management” of the Met are taking the failings “very seriously” and that the Met “is addressing them”.
During his re-election campaign, Mr Khan pledged to lobby the Government for an additional 6,000 Metropolitan Police officers in a bid to tackle crime in London.
But the mayor has said that he wants officers to join the Met “out of a passion to serve their community and with the drive to perform an outstanding job”.
Mr Khan said: “It’s vital that the public can have confidence in the integrity and professional standards of their police. Policing is a rewarding but extraordinarily challenging occupation. Our officers must be skilled professionals and embody the very highest of standards. The public expects and deserves no less. The Met Police Service is working hard to attract and recruit a diverse range of candidates with the aptitude and skills to police our global city.”
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