The Met will no longer require applicants to have lived in London (File photo)
(Picture: PA Wire)The Met Police will lift its requirement that applicants must have lived or studied in London to join the force as part of a new recruitment drive.
It comes as part a Police Uplift programme which will see an additional 1,800 officers recruited into the force by March 2023.
As part of the plans, the Met will temporarily lift its London Residency Criteria (LRC) - meaning those who wish to join the force do not need to have spent time living in London.
The announcement comes just days after Commissioner Cressida Dick announced she would step down after saying she had “lost the confidence” of Mayor Sadiq Khan.
Mr Khan has said it is “vital” that the force works on “restoring Londoners’ trust” after a “series of devastating scandals exposing evidence of racism, misogyny, homophobia, harassment and discrimination”.
The Met has also set fresh diversity targets, with the force aiming to have 21 per cent of its officers hailing from under-represented groups by 2024.
This will rise to 28 per cent by 2030.
There are 4,000 more police officers in the Met than at the start of 2019, according to the latest figures.
The Met said in a statement: “The additional officers, joining us this year, will help us reduce even more crime, bring even more offenders to justice and help us continue to transform the Met.”
