Latest news with #Metropolitan Police
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Shameful' that black boys in London more likely to die by 18 than white boys, says Met chief
The head of the Metropolitan police has said it is 'shameful' that black boys in London are more likely to be dead by 18 than white boys. Sir Mark Rowley spoke on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, where he said racial disparity among suspects and victims of crime in the capital was a 'difficult' issue for the force. The Met police commissioner said there was a history between policing and black communities 'where policing has got a lot wrong, and we get a lot more right today', adding: 'But we do still make mistakes. That's not in doubt. I'm being as relentless in that as it can be.' He said: 'The vast majority of our people are good people. But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.' The commissioner added: 'It's not right that black boys growing up in London are more likely to be dead by the time they're 18, far more likely than white boys. That's, I think, shameful for the city. The challenge for us is, as we reach in to tackle those issues, that confrontation that comes from that reaching in, whether it's stop and search on the streets or the sort of operations you seek. 'The danger is that's landing in an environment with less trust. And that makes it even harder. But the people who win out of that, [are] all of the criminals.' He added: 'I'm so determined to find a way to get past this because if policing in black communities can find a way to confront these issues, together we can give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we're seeing at the moment.' Rowley said policing was not the only area that needed scrutiny, with black boys more likely to be excluded from school than white boys as an example. He went on to say that the criminal justice system was 'close to broken' and could be 'frustrating' for officers. He said: 'The thing that is frustrating is that the system – and no system can be perfect – but when the system hasn't managed to turn that person's life around and get them on the straight and narrow, and it just becomes a revolving door. When that happens, of course that's frustrating for officers. 'So the more successful prisons and probation can be in terms of getting people on to a law-abiding life from the path they're on, the better.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Rowley backed 'vital' proposals called for by Sir Brian Leveson in his report on the criminal justice system published this week. Among other changes, Leveson called for some offences to be tried without jury. He gave the example of Snaresbrook crown court in London, which he said had more than 100 cases listed for 2029. He said: 'If it's someone on bail … and going in for a criminal court trial that could be four years away … That's pretty unacceptable, isn't it?'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
If you dial 999 you CAN expect an officer to attend, but we're pretty stretched, says Met Police chief
The chief of the Metropolitan Police has admitted the service is 'stretched' but maintained that members of the public who dial 999 can expect an officer to attend. Sir Mark Rowley spoke on Sky News ' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, where he attempted to reassure viewers that officers would respond to urgent calls. 'If you are in the middle of the crisis and something awful is happening and you dial 999, officers will get there really quickly,' he said. 'I don't pretend we're not a stretched service. It comes as Sir Mark has called for better resourcing for police. He added: 'We are smaller than I think we ought to be, but I don't want to give a sort of message of a lack of hope or a lack of determination.' 'I've seen the mayor and the Home Secretary fighting hard for police resourcing,' he added. 'It's not what I'd want it to be, but it's better than it might be without their efforts.' The police chief went on to say that racial disparities in the criminal justice system are 'shameful' for London. He said racial disparity among suspects and victims of crime in the capital was a 'difficult' issue for the force. The Met Police Commissioner said there was a history between policing and black communities 'where policing has got a lot wrong, and we get a lot more right today '. 'But we do still make mistakes. That's not in doubt,' Sir Mark added. 'I'm being as relentless in that as it can be.' He continued: 'The vast majority of our people are good people. 'But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.' 'It's not right that black boys growing up in London are more likely to be dead by the time they're 18, far more likely than white boys,' the commissioner said. 'That's, I think, shameful for the city. 'The challenge for us is, as we reach in to tackle those issues, that confrontation that comes from that reaching in, whether it's stop and search on the streets or the sort of operations you seek. 'The danger is that's landing in an environment with less trust. 'And that makes it even harder. But the people who win out of that, all of the criminals.' He added: 'I'm so determined to find a way to get past this because if policing in black communities can find a way to confront these issues, together we can give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we're seeing at the moment.' 'And it's not simply about policing, is it?' he added. 'I think black boys are several times more likely to be excluded from school, for example, than white boys. 'And there are multiple issues layered on top of each other that feed into disproportionality.' Sir Mark also said that the criminal justice system was 'close-to-broken' and can be 'frustrating' for officers. He said: 'The thing that is frustrating is that the system - and no system can be perfect - but when the system hasn't managed to turn that person's life around and get them on the straight and narrow, and it just becomes a revolving door. 'When that happens, of course that's frustrating for officers. 'So the more successful prisons and probation can be in terms of getting people onto a law-abiding life from the path they're on, the better. 'But that is a real challenge. I mean, we're talking just after Sir Brian Leveson put his report out about the close-to-broken criminal justice system. 'And it's absolutely vital that those repairs and reforms that he's talking about happen really quickly, because the system is now so stressed.' Sir Mark gave the example of Snaresbrook Crown Court in London, which he said had more than 100 cases listed for 2029. 'If it's someone on bail, then who might have stolen your phone or whatever and going in for a criminal court trial, that could be four years away. 'And that's pretty unacceptable, isn't it?' he added.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Black boys in London more likely to be dead at 18 than white peers, says Met Chief
The Metropolitan Police chief has claimed black boys in London are more likely to be dead at 18 than white boys. Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips that racial disparity among suspects and victims of crime in the capital was a 'difficult' issue for the force. The Met Police Commissioner said there was a history between policing and black communities 'where policing has got a lot wrong, and we get a lot more right today'. 'But we do still make mistakes. That's not in doubt,' Sir Mark added. 'I'm being as relentless in that as it can be.' It comes two years after an official report labelled the Met institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic. The report, led by Baroness Casey, was commissioned in 2021 after serving officer Wayne Couzens abducted, raped and murdered Sarah Everard. Sir Mark added: 'It's not right that black boys growing up in London are more likely to be dead by the time they're 18, far more likely than white boys. That's, I think, shameful for the city.' Instead, he said he wanted to 'give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we're seeing at the moment'. 'And it's not simply about policing, is it?' Sir Mark added. 'I think black boys are several times more likely to be excluded from school, for example, than white boys. 'And there are multiple issues layered on top of each other that feed into disproportionality.' The police chief said the Met was a 'stretched service' but that people who called 999 could expect an officer to attend. 'If you are in the middle of the crisis and something awful is happening and you dial 999, officers will get there really quickly,' Sir Mark said. 'I don't pretend we're not a stretched service. 'We are smaller than I think we ought to be, but I don't want to give a sort of message of a lack of hope or a lack of determination.' Sir Mark went on to say that the criminal justice system was 'close to broken' and could be 'frustrating' for officers. He gave the example of Snaresbrook Crown Court in London, which he said had more than 100 cases listed for 2029. 'If it's someone on bail, then who might have stolen your phone or whatever and going in for a criminal court trial, that could be four years away. 'And that's pretty unacceptable, isn't it?' he added.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Shameful' that black boys in London more likely to die by 18 than white boys, says Met chief
The head of the Metropolitan police has said it is 'shameful' that black boys in London are more likely to be dead by 18 than white boys. Sir Mark Rowley spoke on Sky News' Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips where he said racial disparity among suspects and victims of crime in the capital was a 'difficult' issue for the force. The Met police commissioner said there was a history between policing and black communities 'where policing has got a lot wrong, and we get a lot more right today', adding: 'But we do still make mistakes. That's not in doubt. I'm being as relentless in that as it can be.' He said: 'The vast majority of our people are good people. But that legacy, combined with the tragedy that some of this crime falls most heavily in black communities, that creates a real problem because the legacy creates concern.' 'It's not right that black boys growing up in London are more likely to be dead by the time they're 18, far more likely than white boys,' the commissioner added. 'That's, I think, shameful for the city. The challenge for us is, as we reach in to tackle those issues, that confrontation that comes from that reaching in, whether it's stop and search on the streets or the sort of operations you seek. 'The danger is that's landing in an environment with less trust. And that makes it even harder. But the people who win out of that, [are] all of the criminals.' He added: 'I'm so determined to find a way to get past this because if policing in black communities can find a way to confront these issues, together we can give black boys growing up in London equal life chances to white boys, which is not what we're seeing at the moment.' Rowley said policing was not the only area that needed scrutiny, with black boys more likely to be excluded from school than white boys as an example. He went on to say that the criminal justice system was 'close to broken' and could be 'frustrating' for officers. He said: 'The thing that is frustrating is that the system – and no system can be perfect – but when the system hasn't managed to turn that person's life around and get them on the straight and narrow, and it just becomes a revolving door. When that happens, of course that's frustrating for officers. 'So the more successful prisons and probation can be in terms of getting people on to a law-abiding life from the path they're on, the better.' Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Rowley backed 'vital' proposals called for by Sir Brian Leveson in his report on the criminal justice system published this week. Among other changes, Leveson called for some offences to be tried without jury. He gave the example of Snaresbrook crown court in London, which he said had more than 100 cases listed for 2029. He said: 'If it's someone on bail … and going in for a criminal court trial that could be four years away … That's pretty unacceptable, isn't it?'
The Sun
3 days ago
- The Sun
London's shocking phone snatching hotspots where thugs target 37 tourists DAILY – settings EVERY visitor must switch on
THUGS are taking over the streets of London's most popular tourist hotspots snatching £50million worth of phones last year. Data obtained by The Sun reveals the worst hit areas across Greater London, with one popular tourist hotspot hit by as many as 37 mobile thefts daily on average. 3 The Metropolitan Police has warned that gangs are pocketing millions, with phone thefts "on an industrial scale". Almost 80,000 handsets were stolen last year - that's up by about 16,000 on 2023. Perhaps unsurprisingly, tourist hotspots tend to rank highest, which is especially worrying for anyone planning on venturing into the capital over the summer. However, hundreds of incidents were reported in typically residential areas up and down Greater London, too. The data from the Met Police is broken down in wards and includes both robbery offences and theft offences. It doesn't include areas represented by the City of London Police. Among these, the West End comes out as the worst place for phone thefts, with a staggering 13,578 cases logged - the equivalent to 37 handsets every day on average. St James's - which covers areas around Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and all the way along the famous Stand - ranked second with some 6,693 recorded incidents. Bloomsbury, Holborn & Covent Garden, Borough & Bankside, as well as Waterloo & South Bank also clocked up more than 1,000 reports in total. Other popular areas to be targeted include Hyde Park with 550, Stratford Olympic Park with 865 and Camden Town with 906. Met Police seize 1,000 stolen phones in a week and arrest 230 people The Met Police told The Sun that criminals behind the problem are making millions by being able to easily sell on stolen devices either here or abroad. "We are seeing phone thefts on an industrial scale," a Met Police spokesperson told The Sun. "In response, we have increased patrols in hotspot areas while officers are using phone-tracking data and intelligence to pursue those responsible. "By intensifying our efforts, we're catching more perpetrators and protecting people from having their phones stolen in the capital. "The Met is also working with other agencies and government to tackle the organised criminality driving this trade and calling on tech companies to make stolen phones unusable. "We are reminding victims to report their phone as stolen as soon as possible to maximise the chance of catching the perpetrator, too often thefts are reported hours or days later." 3 TAKE ON THE PHONE THEFT GANGS There are many obvious ways to avoid falling victim to phone snatching gangs, such as being aware of your surroundings and putting your phone away when you've finished using it. But there are settings on your mobile you need to switch on. Primarily, you should have location tracking activated to help police pinpoint where your mobile is. On iPhone, it's known as Find My and on Android it's Find My Device. You can find these within the settings. There's also another important trick to try available on Android. It may not result in you getting your phone back, but can prevent thieves causing more devastation by raiding through your banking apps to steal money. Theft Detection Lock cleverly uses motion sensors to pick up on the sort of movements associated with a phone being snatched and whisked away. When it's detected, your phone automatically locks so criminals can't dig around your device. While iPhone doesn't have the same feature, there is Stolen Device Protection. This kicks in when you're away from familiar locations like your home and work. It means that if someone steals your device while you're out and about after seeing your passcode, they can't make "critical" changes. So accessing your stored passwords and credit cards will require Face ID or Touch ID. There's no option to use a passcode instead. And there's also a Security Delay feature. So if you want to change your Apple Account passcode, you'll have to wait an hour and then perform a second Face ID or Touch ID scan.
