In My View: Helen Hayes, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood

Baroness Casey’s review of the Met is shocking, finding it to be institutionally racist, sexism and homophobic.

We have seen appalling headlines in recent weeks once again shattering public trust and confidence in the police, including the shocking news that more than 1,500 police officers were accused of violence against women and girls in a six-month period, and the sentencing of Wayne Couzens for indecent exposure offences which pre-dated the horrific murder of Sarah Everard.

The Casey Review must be a moment of action, leading to long term, transformative change for the Metropolitan Police.

Crucial to this is the question of resourcing.

In my constituency of Dulwich and West Norwood, 2023 began with a tragic increase in serious violence, including a life-changing stabbing, the murder of a young constituent on Peckham Rye and a series of violent robberies in Dulwich and Herne Hill.

One of the most destructive policy decisions of the Conservative and Liberal Democrats since 2010 has been the huge cuts to the number of police officers working in neighbourhood policing.

In the decade following 2010 police funding was cut by £1 billion by central government and more than 20,000 police officers were lost across England and Wales, in addition to a similar number of support staff.

As Baroness Casey finds, this has “eroded frontline policing” which Londoners rely on and broken the day-today connection between residents and the Met.

There is some excellent work happening in some areas of my constituency to begin to rebuild trust between the police and our communities.

This is being undertaken by neighbourhood officers, working in partnership with youth organisations and our Councils. But it is precisely these officers that have been in such short supply.

Pressure from Labour and communities across the country has forced the Conservatives to start to reverse some of the vicious cuts to police budgets, but we have lost tens of thousands of experienced officers whose roles must now be replaced by fresh recruits.

In 2010, every ward across London had a Sergeant, two PCs and three PCSOs who knew their local patch well and had the time and resources to tackle local policing issues and build relationships with local communities.

While Sadiq Khan has worked to increase policing levels in London despite the Conservative cuts, there is still much more to do on police reform and police numbers, including independent vetting of officers and, as Baroness Casey recommends, the establishment of a unit dedicated to the safety of women and children.

Alongside an increase in the number of officers, our communities must see a transformation in the culture of policing.

This work won’t be done until the Met is free from officers who are themselves the perpetrators of violence, and every Londoner trusts that the police are there to keep them safe.