Equality organisations say Met Police plan does not go far enough

• Aparna Sreevalsan
• 31 July, 2023

RACIAL justice organisations wrote a letter to the head of Met Police expressing their concerns over the new makeover plan for the Met on Friday (28).

The open letter to Sir Mark Rowley, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, bemoaned the “continued refusal to acknowledge the institutional nature of racism within the Met” and referred to it as a “missed opportunity” to demonstrate a desire to act differently in the future.

Plans to restructure the force, a £366 million two-year project entitled A New Met for London, were announced last week.

The force is working to rehabilitate its reputation following a string of scandals and a harsh evaluation by Baroness Louise Casey who found it to be racist, sexist, and homophobic.

To regain public faith, the proposals call for a greater emphasis on community policing, the transfer of 240 officers from central to local teams, and the use of terrorist-style techniques to apprehend the 100 worst offenders who prey on women in London.

However, the Runnymede Trust coordinated a letter that was signed by several organisations and people, including Inquest, Stopwatch, the Black Equity Organisation, and Lord Simon Woolley, and asked for “a more comprehensive plan”.

It stated: “‍We urge you to deliver a more comprehensive plan of action with clearly codified channels of engagement and accountability that addresses the issue of institutional racism head-on and reflects a genuine commitment to positive change within the Metropolitan Police Service. We would gladly meet with you to consult on what an appropriate plan and inclusive engagement activities could include.”

They said while they “welcome efforts to acknowledge and address recent and historic failures of the Met, including how harmfully black and minority ethnic Londoners are policed”, they find it “regrettable that you have persisted in offering an apology to our communities without accepting (Baroness) Casey’s core finding that the Metropolitan Police Service is institutionally racist”.

Sir Mark stated he would not use the phrase “institutional” after The Baroness Casey Review, released in March. He told reporters he wanted to use language “that’s unambiguous and is apolitical”.

But the groups stated in their letter that this was “a missed opportunity for the Met to signal that it intends to do things differently and acknowledge where the wrongdoing is rooted”.