Met Police ‘inadequate’ at managing risk of sex offenders
The Met Police is not managing the risks posed by registered sex offenders and online child abusers “effectively”, a report from the police inspectorate has found.
It also found the force’s crime investigations also suffer from “inconsistent decision-making” and arguments, with inexperienced officers trying to manage more than 25 crimes at once.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services shared the findings of its 2023-25 inspection programme, which assesses police forces in England and Wales.
It graded the Met Police’s performance across eight areas of policing and found the force was inadequate in two areas – investigating crime and managing offenders and suspects – requires improvement in five areas, and was found to be adequate in just one area.
In the ‘managing offenders and suspects’ section, inspectors identified a lack of training in both managing suspects and offenders, and in use of the Violent and Sex Offender Register.
In one particular example, a high-risk registered sex offender had not been successfully visited by officers or team members since 2017, and there was “no proactive consideration” of arresting the individual or issuing a warrant, the report found.
A performance report provided to inspectors highlighted the Met had a “no further action” rate of 60 per cent for “indecent imagery of children” investigations.
Under the ‘investigating crime’ section, the inspectorate found the force’s crime allocation policy led to “inconsistent decision-making across the force, and to arguments about who should investigate what”.
The quality of investigations for neighbourhood crimes was “generally poor” and lines of enquiry were not always identified or pursued, the report said.
The Met Police does not consistently help victims to access their rights, under the Victims’ Code, and doesn’t always recognise when a victim is entitled to an enhanced service, it found.
Among its recommendations, the inspectorate called for the Met to immediately review its operating model for the teams responsible for the day-to-day management of registered sex offenders and online child sexual abuse and exploitation.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman said: “The unique challenges facing the Metropolitan Police are not underestimated.
“While it was evident in my inspection that many key changes have and are being made, they are not yet translating into consistent and sustained improvements in some key areas.
“While I commend the force for the progress it has made in answering the public’s calls quickly, I have serious concerns about how the force is currently investigating crime and how it manages offenders and suspects.
“I am aware that before our inspection, the force had already recognised the need to achieve better outcomes for victims.
“However, these plans have not yet led to consistent improvements across the whole force, and more work needs to be done to make sure that this happens.”
A Met spokesperson said: “The Met is using every available resource to deliver more trust, less crime and high standards for London. HMICFRS’ report underlines why this continuing reform is needed.
“ONS data shows that confidence in the Met is above other big cities and overall crime in London is below them. It is positive to see the Inspectorate agree A New Met for London is the right plan to deliver improvements and that we are making progress.
“Since this inspection took place, we have already agreed a plan to move forward from the enhanced HMIC monitoring (known as ‘Engage’).”
“We are now reflecting carefully on the findings, the core of which reflect our A New Met for London plans and the briefing we gave to the HMIC. We will continue to work closely with the Inspectorate, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, and other partners to improve delivery for Londoners.”