Fleur Anderson MP statement following Baroness Louise Casey Review 

Fleur Anderson MP said:

“I am glad that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan asked for this independent review to be conducted by Baroness Louise Casey following a series of scandals. I was and remain deeply concerned about the cultural failings and systemic failings within the Met Police.  

The Met police is on notice for 2 years and real changes must be made in this time.  

I understand that the findings of this report are worrying and triggering to many. 

The Report has found institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia and the evidence is damning. This is the first time the Met Police has been recognised as being institutionally homophobic. Baroness Casey has described the Met as defensive, resistant to change and unwilling to engage withing communities. This must be recognised within and rooted out with wholesale, systemic change.” 

“This morning I met with the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime in London, Sophie Linden and raised my concerns with the future of the Met Police.” 

“In Parliament. I asked the Home Secretary to acknowledge that cuts to Met police funding, have consequences and the Casey Report lays out the results of these cuts.Watch here.”

“The report is very clear that our police force is institutionally racist and homophobic, it has also let women and children down. The failures to catch rapists in a shocking aspect. 

I welcome the recommendations of the report, in particular that there will be a new Wandsworth Superintendent from Monday, a Charter for people to know their rights and a children’s strategy vital for safeguarding.” 

Sadiq Khan said

“Following a series of scandals, I asked for this independent review to be conducted by Baroness Louise Casey because I was deeply concerned about the cultural issues and systemic failings within the Met.   

“The evidence is damning. Baroness Casey has found institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia, which I accept. She has described the Met as defensive, resistant to change and unwilling to engage with communities.     

“As Mayor, I’ve already acted to put the Met on a path of far-reaching systematic and cultural reform, with the appointment of a new Commissioner and leadership team who acknowledge the scale of the problems and are committed to change. But clearly much more needs to be done, and fast. 

“I have been determined as Mayor to shine a light on the true extent of the cultural problems in the Met as this is the only way to properly address the deep-rooted issues and regain the trust of Londoners. This review simply must be a turning point and I expect all the recommendations to be implemented quickly and in full. 

“I want to assure Londoners that I’ll be unflinching in my resolve to support and hold the new Commissioner to account as he works to overhaul the force. The Met has many committed, professional police officers and staff who want to be part of this change. I see police reform as a critical part of my mayoralty and I will not be satisfied until Londoners have the police service they deserve – one that is trusted, representative and delivers the highest possible service to every community in our city as we work to build a safer London for everyone.” 

Fleur Anderson MP statement continued: 

We need action to be taken following the findings of this Report. 

This cannot and must not be allowed to be just another one of a long list of police reviews. We have a duty and responsibility to create meaningful and lasting change. 

We need visible changes that can be seen straight away, the public need to be involved in policing, there must be a national vetting system so that police officers are checked in the way that other professionals such as teachers are and reform to the way BCUs currently work as well as adequate training. 

 I am concerned that the Government funding on the Met is not cutting it.  

People in Putney, Southfields and Roehampton have seen the impact of austerity cuts to numbers of police locally. Like other public services, austerity has profoundly affected the Met. The Review lays bare the devastating impacts of government austerity which saw officer numbers falling below 30,000 in London and took £1bn out of the budget. These cuts have hampered reform and help to partly explain how unacceptable cultures have been able to flourish within the Met. There are national problems which need to be urgently addressed. 

Baroness Casey calls for a review of progress after two years, and again after five years so that Londoners can have trust and confidence that reform is taking place. I support this call and will continue to meet with the Mayor of London, the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Sophie Linden, the Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley and our local police as well as constituents.  

Conclusions from the Report: 

• There are systemic and fundamental problems in how the Met is run 
• The Met cannot manage the integrity of their own police service 
• The Met’s new leadership represent a welcome change of tone and approach. However, deep seated cultures need to be tackled in order for change to be sustained 
• Londoners have been put last as frontline police services have been deprioritised.  
• London’s women and children have been left even further behind. The de-prioritisation and de-specialisation of public protection has put women and children at greater risk than necessary. Good detectives investigating domestic abuse are also under considerable pressures, with unmanageable caseloads and poor support for victims. This has increased the disconnection from Londoners. 
• The Met lacks accountability and transparency 
• Discrimination is tolerated, not dealt with and has become baked into the System 
• The Met is in danger of losing its way – consent is broken 

Recommendations: 

Cleaning up the Met 

• The misconduct process is not fit for purpose. A new, independent, multi-disciplinary team of officers and staff should be brought in by the Met to reform how it deals with misconduct cases, with a particular focus on how it handles sexual misconduct, domestic abuse and discrimination. 
• The Met needs to embed and enforce the highest policing ethical values and standards across all of its systems and management. 
• Vetting standards should be changed with immediate effect to guard against those who intend to abuse the powers of a police officer.  
• The PaDP should be disbanded. There should be new, higher vetting and behaviour standards in all its Specialist Firearms (MO19) teams which were found to have the worst cultures, behaviours and practices 
• The Government should expedite providing the Commissioner with new powers to support his efforts to rapidly reform and clean up the Met
   

A new offer to women and children  

• The Met should radically reform and re-specialise Public Protection Teams, including the establishment of new Specialist ‘Soteria’ teams to deal with rape and serious sexual offences.  
• The Met should create an overarching children’s strategy for London to address long-standing concerns about its child protection and safeguarding practices.
   

Building trust with London’s communities to restore consent 

• The Met should be reformed so that the principles of policing by consent – securing and maintaining the respect and approval of the public – are its guiding principles. 
• The Met should introduce a new process with Londoners to apologise for past failings and rebuild consent, particularly with communities where this is most at risk.  
• The use of stop and search in London by the Met needs a fundamental reset.
   

A new police deal for Londoners 

• The Met should build a frontline policing service for London which is as revered and well-resourced as its central specialist teams, giving Londoners the Safer Neighbourhoods, Public Protection and Response teams they deserve. BCU Commanders in the Met have better oversight of specialist units such as TSG and VCTF working in their area. 
• Londoners’ voices are missing from how London is policed. A new borough based approach should be put in place, building on the positive introduction of new dedicated Borough Superintendents and deliver strong and consistent community engagement.
   

New leadership and new management  

• The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner should bring in new specialist expertise from outside the Met in permanent – rather than advisory – roles to support them to overhaul the management of the organisation, and lead on work including reforming the culture of the Met and the creation of a workforce plan. In particular,  measurable and rapid progress on the diversity of the Met’s officer corps at every level.
   

New oversight and accountability 

• A new governance structure should be introduced to oversee and scrutinise the changes needed and ensure full transparency and accountability to Londoners. This should include a new, quarterly Policing Board for London – chaired by the Mayor of London, similar to the model used for Transport for London – should be created to drive forward the changes called for in this review.
   

Showing London that reform is working 

• The Met and the Mayor of London should commission independent progress reviews after two years, and again after five years, so that Londoners can have trust and confidence that reform is taking place. 
• These should focus on: Improvements in public trust, confidence and fairness amongst Londoners, particularly among Black, ethnic minority and LGBTQ+ Londoners; Increases in the proportion of misconduct cases where action is taken and reductions in racial disparity in misconduct cases; Improvements in response rates and times and improvements in the charge rates for reported crimes and, in particular, in charge rates for crimes involving violence against women and girls. 
• If sufficient progress is not being made at the points of further review, more radical, structural options, such as dividing up the Met into national, specialist and London responsibilities, should be considered to ensure the service to Londoners is prioritised.