Latest news with #Sir Mark Rowley
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?'
