Hierarchical organisations added to declarable association policy

Hierarchical organisations that require members to support and protect each other have been added to the Met’s declarable associations policy.

Freemasonry has been formally included, and other organisations will be added as and when information indicates they need to be.

The move follows a consultation of officers and staff which showed two thirds of those who responded felt membership of such organisations affects perception of police impartiality and public trust.

Commander Simon Messinger, Professionalism, said: 

“Successive leaders of the Met have considered for many years whether we need to amend our declarable association policy, particularly in relation to Freemasonry.

“After such conclusive results from our consultation, we have decided now is the right time to address long-standing concerns and that public and staff confidence must take precedence over the secrecy of any membership organisation.

“Our decision does not mean any member of staff cannot join the Freemasons or another similar organisation.

“But we have acted on feedback that involvement in these types of organisations could call impartiality into question or give rise to conflict of loyalties.

“Strengthening the trust both our own staff and London’s communities have in the Met is a core part of our New Met for London plan and ambitions.” 

Officers and staff already have to declare any association with an individual, group or organisation that might compromise their integrity, pose a risk to operations or intelligence or that could damage the reputation of the Met and, as a result, public confidence. Doing so allows for risks to be assessed, managed and mitigated.  

Until now there have been only a few specific examples of declarable associations set out in the policy. These include people with criminal convictions, those who have been dismissed from policing, and lawful professions such as private investigation or journalism.  

In 2021, the Daniel Morgan Independent Panel recommended that officers and staff should be required to declare membership of organisations, including the Freemasons, that could present a potential conflict of interest. Similar recommendations have been made at various points in the past.  

The Met had been of the view that the existing policy on declarable associations was sufficient. However, we continued to receive intelligence reports and general expressions of concern from officers and staff worried about the impact, whether real or perceived, membership of such an organisation could be having on investigations, promotions and misconduct. The number of such reports has been relatively low, but they must be taken seriously. 

From Thursday, 11 December, officers and staff are required to declare a membership, past or present, of any potentially influential organisation that is hierarchical, has confidential membership and requires members to support and protect each other. Freemasonry is named as one of those organisations that must be declared, and if we have intelligence about other organisations in the future they may also be specifically added.

Senior officers have discussed the results of the staff consultation and our decision with the United Grand Lodge of England which is the headquarters of Freemasonry in England and Wales, as well as the Police Federation and other representative bodies.

The staff consultation took place over two weeks from 11 October. More than 2,000 colleagues completed the survey with:

• 66 per cent of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that membership of hierarchical organisations such as Freemasonry affects public perception of police impartiality.

• 64 per cent agreeing or strongly agreeing that membership affects public trust.

• 66 per cent strongly agreeing or agreeing that Freemasonry should be included in the force’s declarable association policy. 26 per cent either disagreed or strongly disagreed.

• Qualitive feedback revealed concerns relating to nepotism, secrecy and a detrimental impact on morale within the Met. Objections to amending the policy included privacy, legal and human rights considerations.

Our drive to improve culture and standards across the Met to build trust with both the public and our own officers and staff continues:  

• Almost 1,500 officers and staff have been exited from the Met in the last three years – the biggest shake-up of police standards in 50 years. 

• We have invested in 200 more professional standards officers, who proactively seek out wrongdoing, and almost doubled the number of criminal conduct investigations each year to nearly 500 in the year 2023/2024. 

• Our Anti-Corruption and Abuse Command has brought in experienced senior investigating officers with significant experience in organised crime, homicide and counter terrorism. It uses aggressive and innovative covert tactics. 

• The Met now has one of the strongest entry vetting policies in UK policing and refusal rates have more than doubled from five per cent in 2020-21 to 11 per cent in 23-24. 

• We have delivered training to our whole workforce – that is around 40,000 officers and staff - that underlines our standards, values and provides tools to assist officers and staff to stand up to inappropriate behaviour. We have also rolled out five days of specific leadership training on culture and values.