Protests prevent Met Police from tackling antisocial behaviour

Inspectors warn that removing neighbourhood officers from their duties to deal with demonstrations is hurting force’s ability to fight crime

Policing the protests in recent months has left the Metropolitan Police unable to tackle antisocial behaviour effectively, a highly critical report has found.
Inspectors warned that the constant “abstraction” of neighbourhood officers in the capital to deal with large-scale demonstrations was having a significant impact on the force’s ability to prevent and deter crime that was blighting people’s lives.
Officers described how they were unable to spend enough time on the beat or developing relationships with members of the public because they were constantly being diverted to other duties such as having to police large pro-Palestinian marches.
Since the Hamas terror attacks on Israel in October and the resulting conflict, pro-Palestinian supporters have held 16 large rallies in central London attended by tens of thousands of people.
In addition, action by environmental campaigners, including Just Stop Oil, has required a huge policing response from the Met.
The report, by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), warned that removing officers from their core roles to police protests meant communities were not getting the service they deserved from the force.
It stated: “Neighbourhood policing teams are responsible for problem-solving and getting local communities involved in crime prevention.
“But neighbourhood officers told us they couldn’t spend enough time carrying out visible patrols, working with the public, or doing preventative and problem-solving work. This is because they were often diverted to other non-neighbourhood duties.
“Abstracting neighbourhood officers from their core role has a negative effect on their work preventing crime and antisocial behaviour, meaning communities may not receive the service they require.”
It was one of a string of problems inspectors identified with the Met, which was placed in special measures two years ago following a series of scandals.
Inspectors who assessed Scotland Yard’s performance across eight areas of policing concluded it was inadequate in terms of investigating crime and managing offenders and required improvement in the areas of preventing crime; responding to the public; protecting vulnerable people; developing a positive workplace and its leadership and force management.
The report found that while the Met had made some progress in areas such as call handling, victims of crime were still being let down in a number of areas.
Lee Freeman, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, said there remained significant issues in the standard of some investigations, with cases involving vulnerable people being handed to inexperienced officers.
He warned that the number of wanted suspects in London had increased since the last inspection and the Met was inconsistent in the way it managed sex offenders – sometimes warning them before carrying out home visits.
The report accused the force of failing to consistently achieve good outcomes for victims of crime with just 3.1 per cent of the 789,544 offences resulting in a charge or a summons, down from 9.1 per cent in 2015.
Mr Freeman said: “The unique challenges facing the Metropolitan Police are not underestimated. Policing the capital city places additional strain on the force and its leadership, as the force tirelessly manages protests, state visits and royal occasions, and national and international sporting events.
“In parallel, the force is in the midst of an organisational-wide transformation, which is significant in both its size and scale. 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.”