Met Police's failure to stop Stephen Port murders could happen again, inspectorate finds
The Metropolitan Police Service has not learned enough from its failings in the case of serial killer Stephen Port, and it could happen again, a new report has found.
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An inspection of the Metropolitan Police Service’s response to lessons from the Stephen Port murders
Stephen Port murdered four young men in East London between June 2014 and September 2015 – but despite the obvious similarities, the Met failed to recognise the deaths were connected.
In its new report, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that the Met had made some improvements since the Port case, including better working arrangements between local officers and specialist murder investigation teams, and training and guidance for officers on chemsex.
However, inspectors also found that Met police officers admit they still rely on luck to identify links between deaths at a local level.
Inspectors concluded that the Met’s flawed handling of the Port investigations could broadly be explained by the following issues:
- poor training and supervision for inexperienced police officers responding to unexpected deaths;
- unacceptable record keeping, confusing case management systems and poor handling of property and exhibits;
- confusing policy and guidance; and
- inadequate intelligence and crime analysis processes, which make it difficult for officers to link deaths.
HMICFRS has made 20 recommendations for the Met, which include increasing the use of intelligence by officers responding to deaths and improving family liaison in unexpected death cases.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said:
“Nearly eight years after Stephen Port murdered his last victim, the Met has still not learned enough from the calamitous litany of failures in that case. My thoughts remain with the family and friends of Port’s four victims.
“The Met made some changes soon after Port’s arrest. But in other respects, it took a high-profile coroner’s inquest and subsequent inspection by us to spur the Met into action. We regularly hear that the Met is inexperienced and that its resources are stretched, which we accept. But that doesn’t absolve the Met of its responsibility to meet basic requirements.
“From poor training and supervision to inadequate crime analysis processes, there are several explanations for why the Met got this so badly wrong. Issues with the Met’s culture and officers’ behaviour have been widely recognised. However, the Met’s problems with competence and professionalism run even deeper: too often, they don’t get the basics right.
“Our inspection has shown that history could repeat itself. That is why the Met must learn from its mistakes and act now on our recommendations, to keep all Londoners safe.”
Get the report
An inspection of the Metropolitan Police Service’s response to lessons from the Stephen Port murders
Notes
- For further information, the HMICFRS Press Office can be contacted at 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.