New £14m investment proposed by mayor to ‘accelerate cultural reform’ of MPS

This includes the creation of a new Leadership Academy to provide enhanced training for MPS leaders and line managers, “strengthening their capability to ensure the high standards expected by policing and the public are achieved”, said Sadiq Khan.

The funding – part of Mr Khan’s 2023/24 budget proposals – would be used to support the MPS Commissioner’s ‘Turnaround Plan’, which sets out how the force will achieve its mission to rebuild trust, reduce crime and improve standards over the next two years (see https://www.policeprofessional.com/news/commissioner-sir-mark-rowley-publishes-his-plan-to-reform-the-mps/)

Nearly £12 million of the proposed new investment of £14.2 million from City Hall announced on Thursday (January 26) would be used to support the Commissioner’s drive for higher standards in the MPS, including the creation of the new Leadership Academy, said Mr Khan.

The academy a key part of the MPS’s recently announced Turnaround Plan and the renewed focus on modernising training and developing a strong cohort of leaders in every policing department across the capital.

The Leadership Academy also aims to empower MPS leaders to identify officers whose performance is not meeting the high standards set and give them the training to tackle issues around discipline and performance more effectively.

This includes improving the working environment for all officers and staff and taking action against officers with “repeated or patterns of unacceptable behaviour” in support of recommendations from the interim Baroness Casey review.

The mayor said the investment will also include increasing the number HR staff within the MPS to tackle performance and standards issues at source, “accelerating the work the Commissioner is leading on to make the MPS a workplace where everyone is supported and proud to be a part of”.

A further £2.5 million from City Hall would be used to improve the training and resilience of the MPS’s Command and Control Centre, which handles more than six million emergency calls and online queries from the public each year.

This action follows the findings of the His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services PEEL inspection, which found that the MPS needed to improve how it responds to calls from the public.

The mayor said his funding proposals are part of a package of measures designed to support the MPS to exit ‘special measures’ as quickly as possible and to “accelerate the root and branch reforms and systemic change to the Met’s performance and culture”.

Mr Khan, said: “I’m determined to continue doing everything in my power to make policing in London better and to support the work that has started to deliver the urgent reforms and step change in culture and performance Londoners deserve.

“This means empowering the Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, to reduce crime further, raise standards, and restore trust between the police and the communities the Met serves.

“To do this we need strong leaders in the Met who not only acknowledge the scale of the problems, but have the training and confidence to take the action needed to raise standards. That’s why I’m announcing plans to fund a new Leadership Academy for all Met leaders in every team across our capital.

“This will play a key part in ensuring the Met can successfully turn the recommendations from Baroness Casey’s interim review into real and lasting action. I see police reform as a critical part of my mayoralty. And I will not be satisfied until Londoners have the police service they deserve – one that is representative, trusted and delivers the highest possible service to every community in our city.

“The extra funding I have proposed today will also ensure that Londoners who contact the Met for help receive the quality of care and attention they deserve.”