By David Young-
The Met Police is working to build trust with the public, in a process it says is still very much ongoing and gathering pace.
The Met’s comments to The Eye Of Media.Com today, comes following a series of damning revelations connected to criminal offences committed by former Met officers.
Some of the shameful misconduct and offences committed by former police officers tend to overshadow the very positive work done by a vast majority of honest and principled officers in the Met, whose professionalism and integrity should not be overlooked for the sake of the rotten apples amongst them giving the force a bad name.
However, the very serious offences and discreditable behaviour committed by those in uniform who ought to command the biggest trust calls for a fresh and reliable vetting system to system to prevent these monsters from being in the police force.
Only 48 hours ago, a Metropolitan Police officer was found guilty of child sex offences, and was jailed for five and a half years. The 52 year old was suspended from duty and faces a police misconduct hearing, had been convicted of attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause/incite a girl aged 13 to engage in sexual activity.
In the wake of multiple disciplinary actions against serving police officers, and ongoing charges against members of the police force, public confidence in the integrity of the force continues to weaken, and the Met is determined to address those very serious concerns.
In October , the Met announced an independent review of the Met’s culture and standards, Baroness Louise Casey began this review at the beginning of February.
The Met says its process will initially focus on the standards of behaviour they expect, and provide a detailed examination of whether they are sufficiently robust in dealing with misconduct within the regulatory framework. It is expected to take 9-12 months.
Also, a separate root and branch review of the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection command has begun, and is expected to be completed in mid-2022.
‘An oversight group has also been established for this review, which will be co-chaired by Dee Collins, the former Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police, alongside Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes. This oversight group will bring external perspective and challenge to this important review’, the Met said.
‘But we know we cannot, and are not waiting, to begin building the public’s confidence that our police officers will protect and respect them.
‘We’re investing in our professional standards. The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offence Team was set up in January and will help make sure we are as robust as we can be in rooting out officers who should not be serving.
‘A dip sample of cases from the last 10 years where sexual misconduct and domestic abuse allegations have been made and those accused remain in the Met is underway, to ensure that appropriate management measures including vetting reviews have been taken.
‘Also, a review of all current investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct and domestic abuse against our officers and staff is ongoing. This is designed to make certain that those who made the allegations are being properly supported and the investigations are comprehensive.
This will encompass a thorough review of the vetting history of those under investigation to reassure the public and ourselves that our internal processes are the best they can be. We expect the results from these reviews within weeks.
We’ve appointed 12 Chief Inspectors, one per Basic Command Unit to focus exclusively on driving adherence to standards locally. These are critical roles and ones to increase our proactive approach to ensuring adherence to our professional standards.
We have made it a priority to write to, and speak to, every Met employee to set out the professional standards we expect of them and to support them to help root out those who do not meet our values. The Commissioner has made it clear that “enough is enough”.
We want the public to have confidence in our vetting and are taking extra measures to ensure our process are the best it can be and address any potential weaknesses’.