The Metropolitan Police’s failure in almost all its areas of work is “deeply disappointing” and urgent reforms remain “unacceptably slow”, London’s Victims’ Commissioner warned.
Claire Waxman hit out as a policing watchdog assessed the force across eight areas and graded it “inadequate” or “requires improvement” in seven - two years after the Met was put into special measures following Sarah Everard’s rape and murder.
Scotland Yard is not managing the risks posed by registered sex offenders and online child abusers “effectively”, HM Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman said.
Crime investigations also suffer from “inconsistent decision-making” and arguments over who was in charge, with inexperienced officers trying to manage more than 25 cases at once, according to his report published on Thursday.
More work needs to be done to make sure it “consistently assesses the level of risk” for all 999 and 101 calls when considering a response and a goal of reducing the number of outstanding suspects has not been met.
The quality of probes into neighbourhood crime was “generally poor” and lines of enquiry were not always identified or pursued.
Ms Waxman said: “I am deeply disappointed that, despite all of the work that we have collectively put into this, the Met are still not achieving the basic level of service which victims want and need.
“This inspection is far from the first to recommend urgent change, and the Met’s public commitments to transformation have not translated into change for victims.
“The Met has no choice but to now listen to the expert voices that are calling for change, and it remains my belief that this needs to be delivered through a Victim Care Hub model – which I have long advocated for.
“We know that the past 14 years have exacerbated struggles that policing has long faced, but victims cannot be expected to wait to have their basic rights delivered.”
Mr Freeman also found there were “significant issues” in the standards of investigation, victim care and management, and “some offences involving vulnerable people aren’t being investigated by suitably trained investigators”.
In one particular audit, a high-risk registered sex offender had not been successfully visited by officers or team members since 2017.
More generally, Mr Freeman discovered too many home visits to predators were announced in advance, potentially allowing them to conceal prohibited mobile phones and laptops. Official guidance states they should be unannounced.
He told LBC Radio’s Nick Ferrari: “The practice of making announced visits is something we have highlighted as a cause for concern and needs to cease.”
The Met was put in special measures in June 2022 over systemic problems, including a failure to log 69,000 crimes. At the time, HMIC said Ms Everard’s killing by a serving officer Wayne Couzens had had a “chilling effect”.
Mr Freeman added on Thursday morning: “I think you’ve heard us talk before about getting the basics right is really important for public trust and confidence. You’ve got to answer the phone quickly, whether it’s emergencies or not, you’ve got to get there quickly in terms of your response, and when you turn up, you’ve got to have officers who are professional consistently and investigate crimes for the victims.
“We found complex crimes being allocated to officers with only basic investigative skills.”
A performance report provided to inspectors highlighted the Met had a “no further action” rate of 60 per cent for child abuse image probes.
It also found the Met does not consistently help victims to access their rights and it doesn’t always recognise when they are entitled to an enhanced service.
Among its recommendations, the inspectorate called for the Met to immediately review its operating model for the teams responsible for the day-to-day management of registered sex offenders and online child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Sadiq Khan said: “Londoners should rightly expect to have the best possible police service and I’m determined to do everything in my power to make policing in London better.
“The New Met for London Plan has set the Met on the right path, and while we have seen progress including improvements in call handling and new approaches to target the most harmful offenders, this welcome report makes it clear that there is still much more to be done.
“I will continue to support and challenge the Commissioner to address the shortcomings and deliver the progress that is required.”
A Yard spokesman said: “The Met is using every available resource to deliver more trust, less crime and high standards for London. HMIC’s report underlines why this continuing reform is needed. ONS data shows that confidence in the Met is above other big cities and overall crime in London is below them.
“We are now reflecting carefully on the findings, the core of which reflect our A New Met for London plans. We will continue to work closely with the Inspectorate, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, and other partners to improve delivery for Londoners.”
Lib Dem London Assembly member Gareth Roberts said: “This assessment by the inspectorate makes for extremely worrying reading.
“Two years after the Met was placed in special measures, we should have seen better progress in creating a police service that Londoners can trust and depend on.”
