Being in the middle of a controversy is nothing new for The London Metropolitan Police, commonly known as the Metropolitan Police Service or simply the Met, which is the largest police force in the United Kingdom.
It is responsible for policing the 32 boroughs of London, covering an area of 620 square miles and in current times, serving a population of more than 8 million people. The Met has a long and controversial history, spanning more than 180 years.
The Met was founded in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel, the Home Secretary at that time. At the time, London had no organized police force, and law enforcement was the responsibility of parish (local community) constables and watchmen. This system was highly inefficient, and crime rates in the city were high. Peel's vision was to create a professional police force that would be accountable to the public and would uphold the law impartially. Peel’s principle was the goal to preventing crime, not catching criminals. According to him, if the police stop crime before it happens, they (the government) will not have to punish citizens or suppress their rights. His opinion was that “an effective police department doesn’t have high arrest statistics; and its community has low crime rates”.
The first 1,000 police officers were known as "Peelers" or "Bobbies," after their founder. They were selected for their physical fitness and moral character and were trained in basic police work, such as crowd control, investigation, and arrest procedures. The Met's headquarters were established at Scotland Yard, and its officers were issued with uniforms and truncheons (a short thick club).
Initially, the Met was not well received by the public. Many Londoners saw the police as an intrusive and oppressive force, and there were several riots in the early years of the Met's existence. However, over time, the police gained public trust, and crime rates began to decline. By the mid-19th century, the Met had become a model for police forces around the world.
The Met was not always the model police agency for efficiency or competence. In the 1860s and 1870s it was tasked with investigating a series of bombings known as the ‘Fenian bombings’, carried out by Irish republican groups. The Met’s handling of these cases was criticized for being heavy-handed and discriminatory towards Irish communities.
The Met's first significant controversy occurred in 1888, with the White-chapel murders, which are more commonly known as the ‘Jack the Ripper’ killings. The Met's investigation of the murders was heavily criticized for its incompetence and lack of progress, maybe because the police considered the five women victims to be prostitutes (which was debatable even in those days), and the killer was never identified or caught, with the case remaining unsolved to this day.
The Met's next major controversy came in 1911, with the Siege of Sidney Street. A group of anarchists had taken refuge in a house in East London, after initially killing two police officers and a third one when the police had surrounded the building. The police response was heavily criticized for its lack of planning and coordination, and questions were raised about the use of antiquated firearms by the police. The police, through the then Home Secretary, Winston Churchill, had to request the assistance of the British Army to quell the situation and bring it under control.
During the 20th century, the Met faced several other controversies, including the policing of protests and riots.
In the early 20th century, the Met was involved in the policing of the Suffragette movement, which campaigned for women's right to vote. When the then British Prime Minister Asquith reneged on his commitment to present ‘The Conciliation Bill’, that would have allowed women, the Right-to-Vote; the women protestors who marched to towards their Parliament were met with brutal force from the Met police, which resulted in the death of two women at the hands of the police.
The Met's most significant controversy in recent times came in 1993 with the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Lawrence was a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack by four white youths in South London. The police investigation into Lawrence's murder was heavily criticized for its incompetence, and allegations of racism within the police force led to a public inquiry. Sir William Macpherson, a retired high court judge and former soldier, headed this inquiry and concluded that the investigation into the killing had been “marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership”. Specific officers in the Metropolitan police were named and the entire force was criticized. The inquiry led to a series of reforms within the Met, including changes to the way the police investigate hate crimes and a greater focus on diversity and inclusion within the force.
In 2021, Sarah Everard was kidnapped and murdered in London, by a London Met Police officer, Wayne Couzens. On 9 March 2021, Couzens was arrested for her kidnapping and murder. However, it was during the vigil of of 13 March on Clapham Common, that led to a controversial police response and four arrests for breaches of COVID-19 regulations, which was criticized for its heavy-handedness and lack of sensitivity towards women's safety concerns. An investigation by Louise Casey, a member of the British parliament's upper house who led the review, said "radical" reform was needed after severe failings were found across the Met, which employs more than 43,000 officers and staff.
"We have found widespread bullying, discrimination, institutional homophobia, misogyny and racism," the report said, adding "women and children do not get the protection and support they deserve".
London’s police force has lost the confidence of the people it serves because it is riven with institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia and doesn’t do enough to weed out bad officers, according to this withering report commissioned after Sarah Everard was raped and killed by a serving officer.
Deep-seated bias, poor management and budget cuts mean that crimes against women and girls are poorly investigated, ethnic minority communities are over-policed and trust in the police is plummeting among various sections of the people, the report found. These issues have been allowed to fester because whistle-blowers are ostracized, outside criticism is ignored and too many bad officers have been allowed to remain on the job, even after they’ve been charged with domestic abuse or harassing their colleagues.
Despite its many controversies, the Met has also been at the forefront of many significant developments in policing, including the introduction of fingerprinting and DNA analysis in criminal investigations. It has played a significant role in counter-terrorism operations, particularly following the terrorist attacks in London in 2005, which claimed the lives of 52 people and injured hundreds more. The Met's response to the attacks was praised for its effectiveness, but there were also concerns about civil liberties and the use of anti-terrorism legislation.
The Met has responded to these controversies by acknowledging its shortcomings and committing to reforms. In the wake of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, the Met introduced a range of measures aimed at improving diversity and reducing racism within the force. These included the higher recruitment of black and minority ethnic officers, the implementation of unconscious bias training, and the establishment of a diversity and inclusion unit.
The Met has also made efforts to improve its community engagement and build trust with the public. The force has introduced neighborhood policing teams, which work closely with local communities to address local concerns and build relationships and has embraced social media and other forms of digital communication to improve transparency and engage with a wider audience.
Despite these efforts, the Met continues to face criticism and controversy. The force is often at the center of debates about police powers, accountability, and civil liberties. The ongoing debate about the role of the police in society and the relationship between law enforcement and the public is likely to continue for many years to come.
