Our city’s police force must change. That is the overwhelming conclusion of Dame Louise Casey’s report into standards and culture within the Met.
It was also my clear message to the force’s most senior officer, Commissioner Mark Rowley, when I met him last week.
I know there are excellent police officers across our city. I’ve met many of them over the years and seen the hard work they do. But as Dame Casey’s report makes clear, those officers and our whole community are being let down by institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia within the Met.
The force’s failings are set out in stark detail in the report. Much of the evidence comes direct from serving police officers, who describe the appalling abuse they themselves have suffered at the hands of their own police colleagues, and the failure of the force to do anything about it. As one serving officer told the inquiry “I am scared of the police. I don’t trust my own organisation”.
The report is also clear this is not just about a few bad officers. It finds the Met also has toxic policies, practices and culture.
Black Londoners are routinely harassed by the police for no good reason. Black children are more likely to be strip-searched. The Met is failing women with inadequate support for victims of rape and domestic abuse. All too often the Met fails to treat homophobia as the serious crime that it is.
Reading the report left me feeling deeply upset and angry. Upset by the awful accounts of children, young people, women and Black, Asian and LGBTQ+ Londoners who have been failed.
Angry because the need for change has been made clear to the police for decades, yet as the report says they have failed to listen and failed to act.
That’s why I was so clear with the Commissioner when I met him that he must implement Dame Casey’s recommendations in full, and why I will be working with the Mayor of London and council leaders across our city to keep the pressure on the Met to reform.
Do I think Commissioner Rowley is up to the job?
The jury is out. His refusal to say the Met is institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic – despite the overwhelming evidence in the report that it is – is deeply worrying.
If he can’t see the problem how can he fix it?
I hope once he’s had time to absorb the recommendations he will implement them in full. If not, as Dame Casey herself concludes, the force will need a much bigger shake up.
Last week I also met with our new police Commander for Southwark and Lambeth, Seb Adjei-Addoh. It was good to hear his strong commitment to change.
I’ll be ensuring the police have a clear local plan to deliver that change in Southwark, alongside the comprehensive London wide action that is so urgently needed.
As a council we will help. I know the Met cannot achieve the scale of change needed on their own. We are already working with them and local young people though our Youth Independence Advisory Group to train local police officers to help tackle and end discrimination. We will build on the successes and learning from that work to help the local Met change their culture more broadly.
The Casey report also makes clear the need to rebuild neighbourhood policing, after it has been decimated by cuts since 2010. It has been good to hear the Met commit to do this.
Again the council will play our part too. This month we launched our new Antisocial Behaviour Task Force. With more community safety wardens. They will be working in key locations were Southwark residents tell us they feel unsafe to tackle crime and related issues. This comes on top of our expansion of our CCTV network with more cameras and more operators, our work up upgrade very street light in the borough and our investment in services to tackle domestic abuse.
We all need to feel safe at home and on our streets.
I’m determined that the council plays our part in making Southwark safer. However we need a police force we can depend on too. After decades of inaction, it is time for the Met to finally grasp the nettle and build the modern, fair and responsive police service Londoners need and deserve.
The clock is ticking, and Sir Mark Rowley’s time to show he can make it happen is limited.