The role of the police is to enforce the law and maintain public order. In order that they may do this, officers wield enormous power. Not only are they able to arrest people, depriving them of liberty; they can access all kinds of information about us, enter our property, take away our things. They also set the terms on which political demonstrations and other gatherings can go ahead. Like all powers, these ones can be abused by corrupt groups and individuals. A report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services points to a deeply ingrained unwillingness on the part of the Metropolitan police to tackle the corruption that it knows exists in its ranks.
It is thanks to the family of Daniel Morgan, who was murdered 35 years ago in a London car park, that the Met and its political bosses are, once again, being forced to reckon with this reality. Public trust in the police has rarely been lower following last year’s horrific abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Last week’s reports of a black teenage girl strip-searched at school were shocking but not really surprising in the context of a stream of incidents in which officers have failed members of the public whom they are meant to serve.
