The Background
The London Policing Board is being created by the Mayor in response to one of Baroness Casey’s recommendations in her review of culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police Service. It will play a central role in driving the changes that Londoners expect from the Met.
Holding the Met to account
Londoners’ trust and confidence in the MPS has been badly damaged by a series of scandals rooted in long-running cultural and performance issues within the Service.
The Mayor has long been clear that wide-ranging reforms are urgently needed for the MPS to regain the trust and confidence of Londoners – which is so vital to policing by consent.
Baroness Casey’s review into the culture and standards of the Metropolitan Police Service was commissioned by the former MPS Commissioner following a request from the Mayor of London in October 2021 after the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Metropolitan Police officer.
In 2022, the national policing inspectorate HMICFRS placed the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) into the ‘Engage’ process of enhanced oversight and support, with its inspectors finding that the MPS was ‘good’ in one area, ‘adequate’ in two areas, ‘requires improvement’ in five areas, and ‘inadequate’ in one area. HMICFRS were also concerned about the MPS’s approach to counter corruption, and the chilling effect that several high-profile incidents had had on public trust and confidence.
Baroness Casey’s final report, published on Tuesday, 21 March 2023, explores a wide range of issues including the Met’s organisation, its support for officers and staff, discrimination, standards, its approach to protecting women and children and its wider operational effectiveness. In the report, Baroness Casey makes findings of institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia in our capital’s police service. The creation of a new London Policing Board to strengthen the oversight of the MPS was one of Baroness Casey’s recommendations for improving the openness and transparency of how the MPS is held to account for addressing these issues, as well as its wider performance.
Sir Mark Rowley QPM published his draft Turnaround Plan in January. It marked the start of a programme of engagement with communities and partners with a revised version to be published later in 2023. The London Policing Board will play a key role supporting the Mayor to oversee delivery of the Plan.