TW: misogyny, racism
On Wednesday 9 February 2022, Dame Cressida Dick announced that she had “absolutely no intention” of standing down from her position as Police commissioner. On Thursday 10 February 2022, she resigned.
The resignation came after increased public and political pressure regarding the recent failings of the Metropolitan Police. The spark for this was the Downing Street ‘partygate’ scandal, in which the PM Boris Johnson held parties during a period of tight restrictions strictly forbidding such gatherings. The Met Police were slow in their response, initially deciding not to investigate allegations of lockdown breaches as no one admitted to having taken part and the lack of social media footage evidence of the supposed events. In her resignation statement, Cressida Dick cited deteriorating relations with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as the principal reason for her stepping down. She said, “It is with huge sadness that, following contact with the mayor of London today, it is clear that the mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue,” she said. “He has left me no choice but to step aside as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police service.”
Why this failure of confidence in the Metropolitan Police? Cressida Dick had been commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police since 2017, the first woman to hold the role. Since her time in the position, the Met has been accused of fostering a culture of sexism and racism amongst high profile scandals. The most famous of these is arguably that of Sarah Everard. Sarah Everard was kidnapped and murdered by a serving policeman in March 2021 as she was walking home. After her murder, five officers faced misconduct proceedings over messages which concerned Wayne Couzens and violence against women. In December of the same year, two officers were found guilty of misconduct in public office after they took and shared selfies with the bodies of two black women who had been murdered.
The police have faced allegations of racism, supported by an official report which claimed that officers mocked the deaths of black babies. Additionally, there has been clear evidence of misogyny in the police force evident through Whatsapp conversation, which revealed a male officer’s message to his female counterpart – “I would happily rape you…if I was single, I would happily chloroform you.” Two of the investigated officer got promoted, while nine were left to serve in the Met.
Most recently, the Met has faced criticism for their inaction in investigating Boris Johnson’s lockdown parties, claiming it is not typical to investigate breaches of pandemic regulations “long after they are said to have taken place”.
It is precisely in the light of these scandals that Dick stepped down. So, what does this mean for the future of the Metropolitan police? Dick, for one, is optimistic. In her statement, she said “There is much to do – and I know that the Met has turned its full attention to rebuilding public trust and confidence. For that reason, I am very optimistic about the future for the Met and for London.” On a practical level, the future of the Met will involve the appointment of a new commissioner. Home Secretary Priti Patel will decide who will take on the role next, in consultation with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. It is important that possible political tensions do not interfere with the process, as Mr Khan is a labour MP and Ms Patel belongs to the Conservative Party. A potential split of the roles is also considered resulting in the separation between looking after policing in London and heading counter-terrorism and royal protection. The idea is that it would allow more focus on reforming the Met. In the long term, the new commissioner will need to work to reform the culture within the police force, as well as improve their reputation in the public eye.