Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner dies at 93
Sir Robert Mark, the former Metropolitan Police Service Commissioner, has died aged 93.
Sir Robert Mark, the former Metropolitan Police Service commissioner, has died aged 93.
Sir Robert was appointed as commissioner in April 1972 after a distinguished career which included being the youngest serving and innovative chief constable of Leicestershire and four years as deputy commissioner in London.
He is regarded as having reformed the Metropolitan Police Service by instilling a new level of discipline and tackling corruption in the force.
He threatened to transfer all 3,200 detectives back into uniform and start from scratch unless they conformed to his standards. As a result of his insistence on standards improvement, 450 officers left before disciplinary action could be taken.
Sir Robert joined Manchester City Police in 1937 and, after a spell in the Royal Armoured Corps during World War II, and two years as a major in the Public Safety branch of the Control Commission in Germany, he rejoined his force.
In 1957, he became the youngest chief constable in Britain when, at the age of 40, he was appointed to Leicester.
Ten years later, the then Home Secretary, Roy Jenkins, brought him to London as assistant commissioner. A year later, he was appointed deputy-commissioner.
By the time he became commissioner, he had a considerable reputation as a thoroughly professional and forward-looking policeman.
Sir Robert – he was knighted in 1973, despite courting controversy when he gave the BBC Dimbleby Lecture contending that the British legal system was too lenient to professional criminals and was exploited and even abused by some lawyers.
In 1976, he staunchly defended the deployment of more than 1,500 police officers during a West Indian carnival in Notting Hill which ended in serious rioting and declared: “There are not going to be any no-go areas in London – we will police every street to uphold the law”.
During his time in London, he gained a reputation for effectively preventing terrorism. He also launched a campaign to recruit more ethnic minority officers through an appeal on television.
Sir Robert retired on his 60th birthday in 1977.
After leaving the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Robert lectured in America and took up a role as a security consultant.
In 1978, he advised the Australian police on anti-terrorism measures. Later he went to Canada to advise on complaints against the police. Sir Robert also made a number of television commercials for a famous tyre company, donating much of his earnings to charity.
Current commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson said Sir Robert was a man of the highest integrity and remained a role model to police officers.