Public confidence and trust in the Metropolitan Police has fallen compared the to the previous year, according to a report by the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime.
In one section covering public attitudes, four of the six measures in public trust and confidence in the force fell in the 12 months up to September 2023, compared to the previous 12 month period.
The only statement that increased was “the police treat everyone fairly regardless of who they are”, which increased by one percentage point to 63%. The measures that showed a decline in trust and confidence were: “the police are dealing with things that matter to this community”, “the police listen to the concerns of local people”, “the police do a good job in the local area” and ‘[I feel] well informed about local police activities over the last 12 months”.
The report was conducted by the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Sophie Linden and also showed that the vast majority of key crime types has increased in 2022 compared to 2023.
A Fiery Exchange
Speaking at City Hall on Wednesday, the Deputy Mayor said “there are a number of factors affecting recruitment” when being questioned by Conservative Assembly Member Susan Hall regarding the trust and confidence level being at 51%. The Deputy Mayor also said ‘there are substantial processes being put in place’ since the Casey Review into the behaviour and internal culture of the police. For example “the [new] commissioner [Sir Mark Rowley] quickly set up a public phone line for grievances…it will also take time for the Met to change.”
You tell us to move on, Chair. I am specifically asking about this. It is perfectly acceptable for me to ask how much resource has gone in to MOPAC since the Casey Review.
London Assembly Member Susan Hall
Hall, who is also the Conservative Party candidate for London Mayor, at one point had her line of questioning interrupted by the Chair of the committee for failing to let the Deputy Mayor answer. Earlier this week, Hall herself failed to answer when asked about police wages when she appeared on LBC.
"You don't know who owns Hammersmith Bridge, you don't know what a police officer makes, and you don't know the bus fare."@NickFerrariLBC grills Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall. pic.twitter.com/xYsj4djw6J
— LBC (@LBC) January 22, 2024
Crimes on the up
In the section recording key crimes across London, the report showed that in 2023 anti-Semitic hate crimes increased by more than 200% compared to 2022 with 1,662 instances. Of the 37 crime types measured, seven of them decreased in the same time frame and 30 increased, three of which were all types of sexual offenses.
