Responding to the Mayor of London’s speech outlining proposed reforms to the Metropolitan Police, Nick Bowes, Chief Executive at Centre for London said:

“Whomever is the new Met Commissioner, they’ll have a huge job ahead of them to restore the confidence of Londoners in the city’s police. A series of scandals have rocked the force, made worse by poor communications with Londoners and a clumsy inability to read the public mood – all against a backdrop of many feeling that the police have struggled to get on top of serious and violent crime.

While the overwhelming majority of officers are dedicated to keeping the city safe, there must be a new focus on recruiting the right kind of people, delivering a force that looks like the city it is charged with keeping safe, and ending offensive attitudes. The Mayor and the Home Secretary need to put party politics to one side, agree on new leadership for the Met and commit to the deep and radical reforms that are desperately needed.”