The sentencing of David Carrick and the dreadful details we have heard of what he did and how his victims suffered forms part of a long line of awful events that strike at the heart of policing today. I wish I could say that I was surprised but I cannot. Aside from him being an abhorrent individual, the reason he got away with his crimes runs deep in a culture that has been in need of reform for a long time. And those at the top know this.
I have throughout my policing career extolled the virtues of the UK policing model, but in the latter stages of that career, I became increasingly concerned at the inability of the service to adapt and ensure that it responded as society changed. You can change the rules in which a force operates, you can change legislation, add new laws, appoint new chiefs, change discipline arrangements, but in essence, there has been little or no success in changing policing culture, identifying the good bits, dealing with the bad.
I recall as a young constable travelling to take my exam as part of the promotion process to sergeant: arguably the most important rank in the service. At the centre there were officers from numerous other forces. A group from one force grabbed my attention. I didn’t hear them being racist, but it was obvious to me that their culture was old and stale and not in keeping with what I thought policing was about. And as a new officer with less than two years service, if I knew this, many others of rank must have known or at worst shared the culture. Some of them are likely to be chiefs now.
I recall being told by one superintendent after another failed shortlisting attempt for promotion that as long as I could not learn to keep my mouth shut, I would not get promoted. Keeping my mouth shut about things that were wrong has never been my strong point.
So I find it a bit shocking that we have chiefs and crime commissioners reacting as though they had no idea about poor policing culture. They do, they just haven’t tackled it.
Being an officer is described as “the job”. It’s a close-knit, often closed-knit, culture, some of which is good and understandable, some of which, however, is negative. As chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, I was all about reform, but you were not likely to hear me extolling the virtues of external help in dealing with policing’s problems. I would have been vilified. No longer tied by organisational pressure and allegiances – and perhaps with more wisdom – my view has changed.
I certainly don’t believe that UK policing is defined by bad actors. It remains one of the best in the world. But it must now work on transforming its culture. It needs to learn lessons from other organisations where the culture has changed, been nurtured and improved. It needs to be less proud about fixing itself and ask for help. And it needs to do it as a whole, not with 43 different forces doing it in 43 different ways. How far can an organisation go if it simply just keeps apologising for past individuals and carries on in essentially the same way?
The question of whether the Metropolitan police can survive needs close examination. Is it tainted beyond redemption? Perhaps it is. Policing must continue in the capital, but does it have to be under the “Met”? I don’t think it does or can, and while policing culture both good and bad exists across every force, there has thus far been little evidence that policing in the capital will do enough voluntarily (despite the positive efforts of the new commissioner, Mark Rowley) to rebuild the public trust. If our model of policing by consent is to survive, that public trust must be high.
That trust lies in the action and culture of policing in our neighbourhoods, not in the ivory towers of seniority. Basic command units, or divisions, are the key and with these, the size, name and hierarchy above them is to an extent irrelevant. But whatever higher structure exists must be focused on reform and enabling a strong ethical culture that is embedded in the belief that policing is about making people’s lives better.
So, I don’t believe it is inevitable that the Met must remain; or that the 43 forces should do so either. We need a radical overhaul of structure, leadership, values and expectations.
For years I have been an advocate of a royal commission into policing, and for years every government has resisted this, but I see no other way to get the service to change. We should start thinking what some believe is unthinkable and undoable. The disbanding of the Met. It is doable. On a recent visit to Argentina I saw first-hand how policing in Buenos Aires had been changed recently beyond all recognition. The service in Northern Ireland is another example to a degree.
With a quick and detailed examination of the cultural and structural issues by a commission, along with quick and perhaps painful implementation, the service can rebuild the public trust which is inherently needed for our model to succeed.
But I fear that despite today, despite Carrick and all the other scandals, the senior echelons of policing will remain in denial and the political drive to change that will be absent.
Culture change takes huge effort and time, and policing has always been too concerned with short-termism. It takes a strong individual to commit to the long haul, but it must happen. New thinking and a new Met are needed now, before it is too late.
Steve White is a former chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales and former acting police and crime commissioner for Durham