Londoners urged to share their views on the Met

Three years after a scathing report found the Metropolitan police service to be institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic, the chairwoman of a new review has appealed to Londoners to tell her if they have experienced any change.

Dr Gillian Fairfield has begun an independent investigation into whether recommendations made by Baroness Casey in 2023 have been carried out.

Members of the public are being urged to share their views, which Fairfield said would help them "get the police service they deserved".

The review will also consider whether the "fault lines" exposed by Baroness Casey have been "permanently repaired" or "papered over with policies and strategies".

Baroness Casey's review, which was published in March 2023, was commissioned following the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by Met police officer Wayne Couzens in 2021.

Her report described a "boys' club culture" in the force, where staff experienced racist, misogynist and homophobic bullying.

She said London no longer had a functioning neighbourhood policing service and black Londoners were being "over policed and under protected".

Baroness Casey described women and girls were being failed, with rape detectives struggling with insufficient resources and cases dropped after a freezer containing key evidence broke down.

She called for the Met to be re-inspected again after two years and warned that breaking up the force should be considered if sufficient progress had not been made.

The Met has said it has made "real progress" since the Casey review was published, but in October, undercover filming for the BBC Panorama programme at Charing Cross Police station found evidence of misogyny, racism and the use of disproportionate force.

A month later, a report by Dr Shereen Daniels into anti-black harm within the force found "systematic racism" within the Met's leadership, governance and culture.

Asked about whether the Met had made progress in protecting women and girls in the five years since the murder of Sarah Everard, Baroness Casey told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that not enough had been done.

Baroness Casey, now chairwoman of the Independent Commission on Adult Social Care, said that, while progress had been made, police were not looking at themselves thoroughly enough to ensure something like Everard's murder would never happen again.

Dr Fairfield was appointed by Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan and Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley in December to carry out her re-inspection.

Asked about the delay of almost a year, Dr Fairfield said she could not comment, but said it was "all the more important" to complete the work and hear from Londoners.

"The Met will only succeed if people feel confident and have confidence in policing," she said.

"We want to talk to as many Londoners as possible, from across London and from different ethnic groups, for them to give us their opinion and views on policing."

Dr Fairfield added she was particularly keen to hear from those who had been victims of crime, who had witnessed a crime or been stopped and searched.

"We want to hear everything for our review, both the good and the bad, so we can have a rich picture when we're putting forward our recommendations."

She said Londoners could get in touch through the Fairfield Independent Review's website, either through a survey or written submission or by attending a group forum.

So far, Fairfield said the team had held focus groups with Met police officers and attended briefings with senior leaders.

She said they would be carrying out unannounced visits to police stations and custody suites, as well as asking officers what they understood from various Met strategies and how they were implementing them on the ground.

The review is due to be published at the end of the summer.

Fairfield acknowledged it was a "big undertaking" but insisted it would be "rigorous".

"I don't think it does Londoners any service to have a report that goes on for one or two years. Baroness Case's report was seismic. It is absolutely vital that progress is tracked against that, but we need to do that quite quickly."

Asked what she would say to Londoners, who might be sceptical about whether sharing their experience would make any difference, Fairfield said the team understood "the burden on people".

"I personally guarantee that I'm going to read every single bit of evidence that comes through, every submission that any member of the public makes to us, I will read personally.

"It's so vital that we get that rich picture. It is important now that we look at Baroness Casey's review, we implement everything that she was saying, so that people get the police force they deserve."

Sir Mark said the Met had delivered "real improvements" which were helping rebuild trust.

"Our New Met for London plan is driving change; we have carried out the most extensive anticorruption clear out in British policing history, strengthened our public protection teams, launched commitments such as our Children's Strategy and Stop and Search Charter, and driven down violent and neighbourhood crime across the capital."

He said that hearing directly from Londoners would help the force understand what more needed to be done.

Sir Sadiq, said the Met was making "significant progress".

"But I know there is more work to do and Dr Fairfield's review will focus on the next steps of rebuilding public trust and confidence in the police.

"The voices of Londoners will be absolutely vital to this process, so we can build a police force that delivers for everyone."

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