‘Significant improvement in accountability of officers’ as misconduct hearings hit new high
The number of Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers who have faced hearings due to misconduct or incompetence has doubled since 2016, according to new data from the London Assembly.
The Assembly says the data represents “a significant improvement in the accountability of police officers from previous years, showing the improved standards of the Metropolitan Police”.
The new figures show that in 2023, 163 officers faced hearings, 153 of whom were facing allegations of gross misconduct and ten facing unsatisfactory performance hearings, which covers absence, gross incompetence and performance issues.
Only 79 hearings were held in 2015, the final year in which London’s police force was under the direction of former mayor Boris Johnson.
This comes as the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) has strengthened vetting standards, re-vetting all officers in 2023.
Unmesh Desai, London Assembly Labour policing spokesperson, says the figures demonstrate that Londoners can begin to place “trust and confidence” in the MPS.
He has urged the force to speed up misconduct hearings in order to reduce the backlog of cases waiting to be heard, which reached 397 earlier this year, a new peak, up from 355 in October.
Following the Casey Review, which found that the police were institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, funded the police to make the urgent cultural and performance improvements Londoners require, including raising behaviour standards of officers.
He used his 2024/25 Budget to increase police funding to a record-breaking £1.148 billion following more than £1 billion in real-terms cuts to the police from the last government.
Mr Desai said: “The fact that more police are being held to account should be welcomed. This is vital if we are to rebuild trust and confidence after Londoners have seen officers lack the high standards expected of our police.
“While there is still more to do, I am pleased that Londoners can see the Metropolitan Police taking the steps they need to improve.
“I applaud the Mayor for giving the police the tools they need to rebuild their integrity following the Casey Review, but urge the Metropolitan Police Commissioner to address the backlog of misconduct cases still outstanding. Without this, Londoners will not feel confident reporting crimes or helping investigations, meaning more crimes will go unsolved and fewer criminals will be caught.”