Commissioner's response to interim report by Baroness Louise Casey

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley pledged to set a new direction today after an independent review found our misconduct system is failing Londoners and police.

Sir Mark said he will urgently confront the culture, systems and leadership that have let down the public and officers and staff alike.

His comments came after an interim report by Baroness Louise Casey found officers and staff suffered discrimination and hate from colleagues and were then further let down by a weak response from the Met.

Overall, her report concluded misconduct cases are taking too long to resolve, allegations are more likely to be dismissed than acted upon and there is racial disparity across the system.

Sir Mark said: "Integrity is the foundation of policing. People rightly expect us to uphold the highest standards.

“Yet our organisation is being undermined by corrupting behaviours that have gone unchallenged and have been allowed to multiply.

"While the focus of this report is on misconduct, it tells a serious story about our culture. We need to radically overhaul how our organisation is set up, and instil our values in everything we do.”

Baroness Casey was invited by the Met to independently assess our organisation’s culture and standards, and identify how we can improve.

The interim Casey Review, her letter to the Commissioner and his response can be found here.

The final report by Baroness Casey and her team is expected to be published in the Spring.