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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Comment
Mark Blunden

The Leader podcast: Will Met Police ‘special measures’ fix London crime wave?

The New Scotland Yard sign outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London. The force has been placed on special measures (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

(Picture: PA Wire)

The Metropolitan Police has been handcuffed into ‘special measures’ by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary after a series of damaging scandals and “systemic failings” in the force’s work.

It means the Met will now be under intense administrative scrutiny by the watchdog.

The announcement follows outrage over awful incidents that included the rape and murder of Sarah Everard shattering public confidence, the failure to stop serial killer Stephen Port, the strip search of a black schoolgirl, Child Q, as well as not logging 69,000 crimes yearly.

Crime in the capital is up over 10 per cent, including a year-on-year 8.5 per cent rise in violence against the person — almost 250,000 crimes — sexual offences up 26 per cent and knife crime up five per cent, although homicide decreased by 10 per cent and youth homicide is down by a third.

How can the capital’s famous constabulary redeem its reputation and restore confidence among Londoners?

To examine the latest on the scandal inside Britain’s most famous police force, The Leader is joined by the Standard’s City Hall Editor Ross Lydall.

Listen here or here:

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