Met told 'young Londoners do not trust police'

Too many young Londoners do not trust the police or feel safe in their local area, the Metropolitan Police has been told, despite its effort to overhaul the way it treats under 18s.

A report released by the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee said young Londoners "feel they are not believed by the police, and that they are seen as a suspect first, regardless of their reason for coming into contact" with officers.

The committee issued 11 recommendations aimed at restoring confidence.

Supt Matt Cox said the force "welcomes the report, including suggestions around how we best engage with and support young people in the capital. Ensuring children feel safe, both in their communities and at school, is a key priority".

The report comes after the force's "child-first" approach to policing in 2024, which was introduced after a series of incidents that included the Child Q strip-search scandal.

Since then, the Met has made a number of cuts and changes to youth‑focused neighbourhood policing, including the removal of safer schools officers (SSOs) and youth engagement and diversion officers (YEDOs), according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

All 371 SSO posts in London were axed last year, so there are no specialist officers working in schools in areas with high levels of violent crime.

These changes have created a greater gulf between young Londoners and the Met Police, according to the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee report.

While one school principal described their removal as "catastrophic", others take a different view.

The race quality think tank Runnymede Trust has in the past called for the removal of SSOs in schools. It argued that schools risked relying too heavily on police to deal with "quite trivial" behavioural or pastoral issues, which should instead be handled by teaching staff.

Speaking to BBC London, Lily, a 17-year-old college student from Twickenham, has said she generally trusts the police but is aware that there were "bad apples" in the force.

"Because I am a woman, I know there have been times when the police use their power for bad reasons," she said, citing Sarah Everard's murder by Met Police officer Wayne Couzens.

"As someone from an Asian background, I hope I would be treated the same as a white person, but I do know the police can racially profile people like me," she said, noting a lack of racial diversity in the force itself.

The committee made 11 recommendations aimed at rebuilding trust, including the introduction of an annual city‑wide survey of young people to help the Met better understand their concerns.

Other recommendations included establishing neighbourhood policing teams as the central hub for youth engagement. The Met was also urged to create a comprehensive map or directory of youth and community services by the end of the year.

Committee chair Marina Ahmad said that having up‑to‑date data would provide clearer insight into the fears and issues young people face.

Previous findings underlined the scale of the problem. According to a 2022 survey released by the Mayor's Office, one in five young people felt unsafe in their local area, and one in 10 felt unsafe at school.

Fear of crime, particularly hate crime, weapons, and gangs, was cited as a major factor behind young Londoners feeling uneasy in their own communities.

The committee acknowledged the force was trying to change their approach to young people but said they must make a concerted effort to measure the impact of this.

"The Met's Child First Approach is something we support, but we have concerns around the support being provided to young people by the police and how safe they feel in their communities," Ahmad added.

"Our recommendations within this report could help bring young people and the police closer together and help build more trust and confidence."

It also encouraged the Met to outline how work previously carried out by SSOs and YEDOs will now be undertaken by other officers.

Cox said the Met was "considering the recommendations, ensuring that we continue to build trust and confidence in the Met among young people".

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