LONDON, June 29 (PTI): Britain’s largest police force, the Metropolitan Police or Scotland Yard, has been placed under scrutiny by the country’s police watchdog over its recent performance, with Home Secretary Priti Patel saying it was clear that the elite police unit was “falling short.”
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), which oversees the work of police forces, said on Tuesday that the Met Police was being “monitored” to help support the force make “improvements”.
Patel, the Indian-origin minister in charge of security, said “it is clear the Metropolitan Police Service is falling short”.
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“I expect the police to get the basics right… which is why I support the action that HMICFRS has taken today to highlight their failings — and I expect the Met and the London Mayor to take immediate action to begin addressing them,” she said.
The HMICFRS outlined the two stages of its monitoring process, starting with the “Scanning” phase, which uses data and information from a range of sources to highlight poor or deteriorating performance and identify potential areas of concern”.
They note that if a force is not responding to a cause of concern or if it is not succeeding in managing, mitigating or eradicating the cause of concern, then it will likely be moved to the “Engage” phase.
“We can confirm that we are now monitoring the Metropolitan Police Service through our Engage process, which provides additional scrutiny and support to help it make improvements,” the watchdog said.
The Met Police issued a statement to say the force recognised the “cumulative impact” of events and problems it is dealing with.
“We are determined to be a police service Londoners can be proud of. We are talking to the Inspectorate about the next steps,” it said.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who oversees the UK capital’s policing operations, added: “I will work with HMIC and will hold the Met to account in delivering the police reforms and step change in policing performance and culture that all our communities deserve.”
The finding comes as a series of incidents linked with the force led to former Met Police commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick, resigning earlier this year.
Dick has been replaced on an interim basis by Sir Stephen House while her successor is being recruited.
Priti Patel confirmed the process to recruit a new commissioner is “well underway” and the successful candidate is expected to demonstrate sustained improvements in the force in order to “regain public trust both in London and across the country”.
One of the most prominent cases to hit the headlines was the murder of Londoner Sarah Everard by a serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens in March last year.
An investigation found concerns had been raised about Couzens but appropriate action wasn’t taken against him.
