Metropolitan 2015

I am satisfied with most aspects of the Metropolitan Police Service’s performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime, but there are some areas that need to be improved in order to provide a consistently good service.

The Metropolitan Police Service is effective in preventing crime and anti-social behaviour and has demonstrated a strong commitment to protecting vulnerable people. In particular, officers throughout the force see tackling domestic abuse as a high priority. However, more work is required in order to provide a consistent response so that vulnerable people – especially vulnerable children – are always kept safe. Furthermore, the quality of some investigations still needs to improve, although I am encouraged to see that the force is taking steps to achieve this through the implementation of its ‘Mi investigations’ initiative.

With its track record of achieving savings, an understanding of demand and a balanced budget, I am satisfied that the Metropolitan Police Service is well prepared to face its future financial challenges.

I am also pleased with the steps the Metropolitan Police Service has taken to improve its legitimacy. The force has a good understanding of the diverse communities of London and is working hard to improve engagement across the city. The force is making considerable efforts to increase the diversity of its workforce so that it is more representative of the communities it serves. Although this work has not yet been as successful as the force would have liked, I hold the view that it will produce results in the longer term which will help improve the ethical and inclusive culture of the organisation.

I am satisfied that the strategic direction provided by the chief officer team is clear and that the Metropolitan Police Service has a good understanding of the scale and complexity of policing London. The force has a good understanding of areas it needs to develop further to meet future challenges.

Description of force area

The Metropolitan Police Service provides policing services to Greater London. Although there are areas of acute deprivation within the force area there are also areas of extreme affluence. Around 8.5 million people live in a predominantly urban setting. The force covers the urban conurbation of Greater London, including the City of Westminster. The resident population is ethnically very diverse, with 40 percent from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, and is increased by a very large number of university students and the very large numbers who visit, socialise in, commute into, or travel through the area each year. The transport infrastructure includes major rail stations, public transport hubs and major airports.

The proportion of areas in the Metropolitan Police Service that are predicted to present a very high challenge to the police is lower than the national average. These are characterised by social deprivation or a concentration of commercial premises (including licensed premises), and in some cases both.

Exceptional events

London remains the focal point for public demonstrations in England and Wales. Each year the force polices a large number of high-profile demonstrations. Examples during the last year include those against the state visit of the Chinese premier and the anti capitalist ‘Million Mask March’.

The terrorist attack on 13 November in Paris led to increased public concern about the terrorist threat to London. The force responded by increasing the availability of armed police officers in London and is planning to increase the overall number of armed police within the force.

Working arrangements

During 2015, the force has made a considerable reduction in the number of buildings from which it operates, to reduce costs and, in some cases, raise money through their disposal. Public access to the force’s services has been maintained by the use of alternative locations and internet-based reporting. The force is introducing mobile technology to increase efficiency by supporting the work of officers when away from police buildings and to mitigate the impact of building closures.

The force undertakes some activities on behalf of the police service across England and Wales. For example, the force leads the national policing response to counter-terrorism and provides protection to members of the royal family and senior government figures. It also takes the lead in some major investigations such as the disappearance in 2007 of Madeleine McCann.

Effectiveness

Efficiency

Legitimacy

Leadership

The force’s senior leadership team has set a clear strategic direction for the force and has clearly communicated the values, behaviours and ethics it expects of its workforce. The force has a clear understanding of its current state of leadership and has systems in place to help it to understand how its workforce perceives and understands its leaders. It uses this information to make changes which it communicates to the workforce.

The force understands that its leadership requires further development if it is to successfully lead and implement a major change programme.

Insights from other inspections

HMIC undertakes other inspections in addition to the PEEL programme. Since the last PEEL assessment there have been 19 reports published on inspections that included the Metropolitan Police Service. More detail on some of these inspections can be found under the Other inspections section.

In March 2015, we examined how effectively the force identified victim and witness vulnerability in criminal case files. We found that, in the majority of cases we examined, the files contained an adequate summary of the key evidence and the interview conducted. However, special measures to help vulnerable witnesses give their best evidence were only evident in half of the cases.

Our inspection of so-called honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation revealed that the Metropolitan Police Service needs to improve both the prevention of such offences and its enforcement taken against perpetrators.

Looking ahead to PEEL 2016

In the year ahead, I will be interested to see how the force responds to this assessment and the areas for improvement that HMIC has identified in the last year.

I will be particularly interested to see:

• the results of its ‘Mi investigations’ initiative to improve the quality of crime investigations across the force;
• the outcome of continuing efforts to enhance the diversity of the workforce;
• how the force works with communities and partners to increase their understanding of so-called honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation and to help encourage victims to have the confidence to come forward;
• improvements in enforcement taken against perpetrators of so-called honour-based violence, forced marriage and female genital mutilation; and
• how the force improves its response to missing and absent children through developing its understanding of the nature and scale of the issue.

In May 2016 a mayoral election will take place in London, which will coincide with the second police and crime commissioner elections in the majority of force areas across England and Wales. Scrutiny of the Metropolitan Police Service is conducted by the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime rather than a police and crime commissioner.