Summary

  • The head of the Met Police has pleaded for more powers to sack rogue officers as he vowed to clean up the force

  • In a phone-in interview with the public on BBC Radio London, Sir Mark Rowley said it was "nonsensical" that he cannot sack those found guilty of wrongdoing

  • The Met chief said the public should "judge us on our actions and I'm sure we can start to rebuild that trust" following a series of scandals

  • Rowley also pledged to boost racial diversity in senior leadership roles and make street crime a priority for his force

  • It comes after the force was branded institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynist in a damning report last month

  • Rowley said serious crime and terrorism officers were being moved to investigate wrongdoing in the force

  • He said he expected hundreds of officers to be removed over the next two or three years

  1. Young black people stopped more than white - Rowleypublished at 11:58 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley admits young black people are stopped more than white people, on average.

    "This is where we get into the under-protected, over-policed issue," he says.

    He adds that positive outcomes - where a caution, weapons or drugs are found - is 28-29%.

    Rowley says that rate is pretty much the same between black or white so there's not a lot of difference there.

  2. Do the Met Police racially profile during stop-and-search?published at 11:56 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Turning to stop-and-search, Nestor asks Rowley what proportion of white people are stopped and searched compared to black people over the past few years?

    In her review, Baroness Casey called for a "fundamental reset" of stop-and-search in London, including introducing an independent monitor.

  3. We'll tackle ableism - Rowleypublished at 11:54 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley says it's "horrible" to hear Jamie's experience of ableism - and says everyday discrimination like that is what he wants to tackle as commissioner.

    Baroness Casey's report focuses on a number of issues, Rowley says, including ableism - and he confirms the force plans to tackle all of them.

    And not just the ones that made headlines, he says, referring to racism, misogyny and homophobia.

    Rowley says tackling ableism is a key part of the Met's drive to reform itself, but says he can't confirm how many of London police stations are wheelchair-friendly (an issue Jamie raised).

    He pledges to look into this.

  4. How can you tackle disability hate crime?published at 11:52 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Jamie asks the head of the Met whether his officers are institutionally ableist and, if so, how they can tackle disability hate crime in the capital?

  5. We have systemic failings - Rowleypublished at 11:51 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley responds again by suggesting the word "institutional" means different things to different people.

    "Some use the word institutional to mean the majority of people in the organisation are racist or misogynist," Rowley says.

    "In others' definition it means nobody's racist or misogynist, it's just systemic failures.

    "It's a term which has such wide meaning to different people," he says, arguing that he wants to be more precise.

    "We have racists, misogynists and homophobes in the organisation. We have systemic failings which mean they've got more of a presence."

  6. Are the police's problems institutional?published at 11:49 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Nestor grills Rowley on why he refuses to acknowledge the institutional nature of the problems in the Met Police.

    You may remember, Baroness Casey found the Met to be institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynist in her damning review of the force last month.

    Rowley said at the time he accepted the findings, but faced criticism for refusing to use the word "institutional" as he said it had become politicised and was ambiguous.

    Eddie Nestor
    Image caption,

    Eddie Nestor grilled Rowley on why he refuses to acknowledge the institutional nature of the problems in the Met Police

  7. Everyone in my top team is white - Rowleypublished at 11:46 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Eddie has just been reading out a list of Rowley's leadership team. Pressed about how many people in his leadership team are not white, Rowley says none.

    The Met commissioner says the leadership team is great on gender, but not good enough on people of colour. He says part of the problem is trust issues.

    "The system has failed," Rowley says.

    He explains that there are systemic failings in the organisation, and racist, homophobic and misogynist members of staff.

  8. How many senior Met roles are held by non-white people?published at 11:45 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Turning to diversity in the force, Nestor asks Rowley how many of the top roles in the Met Police are held by people of colour.

  9. Three in ten officers are women - Rowleypublished at 11:43 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley says he's "very keen" for more women to join the Met.

    More than 30% of the force currently is made up of women, he says, admitting this isn't as much as he'd like.

    He adds that a new recruitment campaign is on the way to try to remedy that.

    Asked by Nestor how important diversity is to that recruitment drive, Rowley says he's "very alive to the fact" recent scandals will mean women and people of colour are potentially hesitant to join the police.

  10. How are women being encouraged to join the Met Police?published at 11:41 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    The next caller, Millie, asks Rowley what the force are doing to encourage more women to join the Met Police.

    It's a timely question as a poll by BBC London earlier found that 47% of women in London said they did not have trust in the force.

  11. We'll kick out criminals - Rowleypublished at 11:39 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    "Anybody who's committed a crime, we'll try to get them prosecuted in the courts as well as getting them out of the organisation," Rowley replies.

    "One of the things that encourages me about the future is we were oversubscribed with volunteers in the organisation who wanted to help.

    "The majority are as angry and frustrated and embarrassed about this as many of your callers will be," he tells Nestor.

  12. Will officers face criminal charges?published at 11:37 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley is now asked whether officers being kicked out of the force for rape will be prosecuted.

  13. We'll look into abuse allegation - Rowleypublished at 11:36 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley tells Joy he doesn't know the specifics of her case and asks her to contact him directly.

    Joy replies by saying she did write to him in two instances, and his team told her to contact the anti-corruption unit.

    Rowley says he will look into it.

  14. Is the anti-corruption hotline investigating my claim?published at 11:34 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Joy from Sussex is a former officer who detailed the abuse she experienced in the force using the anti-corruption hotline, but has not heard anything back.

    She asks Rowley why this is.

  15. We will make street crime a key priority - Rowleypublished at 11:34 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley apologises to Ajmal and for his force not doing the job it should've. He also asks Ajmal to give the details of the case to the show's producers so he can ensure it's followed-up.

    On making streets safer, Rowley admits the Met now has around 1,600 police community support officers (PCSOs) across London's neighbourhoods, which is a lot, he says.

    But he insists he still plans to make this a key priority.

    "We're going to stabilise that" and add more numbers to the force, he says, before quoting some figures about youth violence - including more than 500 young people being stabbed last year.

    He says stop-and-search is necessary as a result, but the process must be carried out better than it has in the past.

  16. My son was robbed - are you taking street crime seriously?published at 11:31 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Ajmal has called in to say that his 14-year-old son was robbed and the police did nothing in response.

    His son has lost all his confidence and he wants to know why street crime is not being taken seriously.

  17. Police struggling under lack of resources - Rowleypublished at 11:30 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley admits that as resources have been more stretched, policing has suffered.

    He says he can absolute understand that cases like Met Officer rapists Carrick and Couzens have decreased people's confidence.

    The commissioner says it's upsetting as he cares about policing and caring for people at their most vulnerable time.

    Rowley adds that he came to the job from a "very comfortable retirement ... to sort it out".

  18. Has rape effectively become decriminalised?published at 11:27 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Radio presenter Eddie Nestor tells Rowley that the damning report by Baroness Casey last month says that rape feels most like it has been decriminalised.

    He asks: Is this true?

  19. Extraordinary growth in male predatory violence - Rowleypublished at 11:25 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Rowley responds by saying male predatory violence against women and children is a "massive" issue - and that rape reports alone have "quadrupled" in the last decade.

    "That's an extraordinary growth," he says, adding police officer figures haven't grown as much as that.

    Rowley says it's the same for other issues, including domestic violence.

    After being grilled on rape case evidence being stored in broken fridges - as laid out in Baroness Casey's review of the Met - Rowley acknowledges numbers are stretched. But he says the force is looking to be more proactive rather than reactive in tackling issues such as those mentioned above.

  20. How will you support traumatised women who have been ignored?published at 11:23 British Summer Time 6 April 2023

    Tiwa works with women who have experienced domestic violence and have been left traumatised after not being listened to by police.

    Tiwa asks Rowley what the Met will do to help these women and whether there are plans to support anti-violence charities?