A series of scandals involving the Met and the Met’s response – playing them down, denial, obfuscation, and digging in to defend officers without seeming to understand their wider significance – combined with this loss of trust, are strong indicators of fundamental problems.
In September 2022, the appointment of a new Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner with a commitment to reform marked a new, positive beginning for the Met.
This Review, commissioned in the wake of the scandals that have rocked policing nationally, has sought to examine the Met’s culture and standards. We have not undertaken an inspection of the Met’s overall performance, efficiency and effectiveness although we have looked at some aspects of this.
Our approach has been to talk to officers, staff and others, and review and analyse information, data, systems and operational performance for their relevance to the Met’s culture and standards. We considered how the Met's culture affects its central purpose to keep Londoners safe, how it inspires trust and confidence, and how it upholds the British model of policing by consent.
