Police Watchdog Calls for New Powers for England and Wales Amid Trust Crisis

According to Andy Cooke, trust in the police is “hanging by a thread” and forces are not following advice.

The head of England and Wales’ police inspectorate has called for broad new powers to compel police forces to address what he called the worst law-and-order crisis in recent memory.

Andy Cooke, the head of His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), stated in his first annual report that there was a short window of opportunity to rebuild public confidence in law enforcement before it was irreparably harmed.

“Public trust in the police hanging by a thread,” declared Cooke. He claimed that a string of “dreadful scandals” including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens and David Carrick’s 48 rape convictions were a contributing factor in the public’s loss of trust in the police.

If the HMICFRS had the authority to compel forces to follow its recommendations rather than relying on the current system of voluntary compliance, such scandals could have been addressed sooner, according to Cooke.

He expressed his frustration at the Met and other police forces’ repeated failures to heed police inspectorate warnings about officers abusing their positions with victims for sex, which were first raised in 2016.

He began the report by saying, “In those seven years, we’ve seen some truly horrendous acts by police officers.” “I’m not claiming that wouldn’t have happened if they had followed our advice sooner. However, if I had been able to order rather than just suggest, a lot more would have been accomplished much faster.

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Added him: “We’ve seen forces fail to act, or act too slowly, to address our recommendations far too frequently.”

Cooke urged the government to introduce legislation that would make police forces’ compliance with inspectorate recommendations regarding matters of public safety a legal requirement. In order to raise the caliber of police chiefs, his report also calls for HMICFRS to play a role in the hiring of chief constables and other senior officers.

He demanded “substantial reform” of the screening and hiring procedures for police, “including for chief officers.”

Cooke claimed that filling in the gaps left by public service cuts was a waste of too much police time. He agreed with the Met’s proposal to stop responding to urgent mental health calls.

“So much police time has been shifted to other areas of a dysfunctional system… It takes time to apprehend criminals, he claimed. Many of these other public services are struggling financially and are unable to keep up with demand. For instance, in 2022, the police responded to 600,000 cases involving mental health. Police should not be involved in treating mental illness.

Former Merseyside police chief Constable Cooke said, “I can’t recall a time when the relationship between the police and the public was more strained than it is now.”

He lamented a “stark decline” in crimes brought to justice, with a two-thirds decrease in charge rates since 2015.

“A policing funding system that is not fit for purpose and a criminal justice system that is dysfunctional and defective,” he said, “do not help the police.”

He emphasized that in October of last year, the backlog of cases in the Crown Court had reached record heights. According to Cooke, these “widespread systemic failings” also harmed the public’s confidence in the police.

Cooke insisted that stop and search was an efficient method of preventing crime and demonstrating police visibility on the street in a thorough report. But he asserted that police chiefs ought to justify why it had been disproportionately applied to black people. That doesn’t mean the police are being racist, he said. Additionally, there is greater victim disproportionality. A young black man has a four times greater chance of being murdered than a young white man.

Cooke advised police departments to stay away from political events. They shouldn’t be promoting social change, he said. “The police need to give the public’s top concerns priority. The forces are doing the bare minimum incorrectly.

Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, stated that the report highlighted both “the dedication of officers, staff, and volunteers” as well as “the range of challenges in meeting the needs of communities across the UK.”

He continued, “Policing must continue to do more to restore the public’s trust and confidence, which we know has been eroded over recent years. To achieve this, we continue to be committed to preventing crime and disorder, paying attention to community concerns, and offering consistently high-quality services for handling emergencies, looking into crimes, and ensuring public safety.

The pressure on the criminal justice system and mental health services, as well as the serious effects this has on society’s ability to access justice and care, are also correctly acknowledged in the report.

The home secretary, Suella Braverman, praised the report and said, “I equally share his concern that policing needs strong leaders, a greater emphasis on the fundamentals and issues that matter most to the public – and to be more visible in communities.

This is the reason I have advocated for common-sense policing. The police must provide for victims despite having the most officers on the force ever.