This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Gun and knife crime jumped in London over the last year, official figures show – as the Metropolitan police’s performance was criticised by the official inspectorate.



Gun crime was up 42% and knife crime rose 24%. Overall crime was up 4.5% to nearly 774,737 offences, with 16.72% counted as solved, down from 18.8% the previous year.

The Met published the figures on Wednesday as Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary highlighted “some areas of serious concern” – drawing attention to several problems faced by Britain’s largest force as its new commissioner, Cressida Dick, takes over.

The inspectorate said the Met’s performance was substandard in key areas including child protection and ethical practice. .

The Met also faces a shortage of detectives and “requires improvement in ensuring its workforce behaves ethically and lawfully” and does not actively seek out intelligence on corrupt activities.

HMIC’s inspector for London, Matt Parr, said: “I am satisfied with some aspects of the Metropolitan police service’s overall performance, but there are some areas of serious concern about its effectiveness that the force needs to address.”

HMIC published its assessment of every force in England and Wales on Wednesday. While the data and findings had previously been made public, it contained a new commentary summarising the overall performance of each force.

The Met prides itself on being a leader in British policing and employs about a quarter of all UK officers. The commissionership of Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe ended in February with crime figures down even though the force’s budget shrank.

But HMIC identified problems his successor, will need to address. Parr said: “I have concerns about the quality of the initial stages of its investigations and, in particular, the shortage of trained detectives within the force.”

The Met was found to be requiring improvement in its effectiveness at keeping people safe and reducing crime. Its efficiency and legitimacy were rated as good.

In contrast, the next three biggest forces, West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire, were good in every category, with the West Midlands force earning an “outstanding” mark for efficiency.

Parr said the Met faced “particular challenges because of the threats to London, and because of the size and complexity of the organisation”.

It won praise for its mobilisation when a lone terrorist attacked the capital. Parr said: “Londoners can be proud of the force’s response alongside other emergency services to the recent attack in Westminster, and the force has demonstrated its vigilance and preparedness for major incidents.”

HMIC said the Met needed to improve protecting children, the quality of its investigations; and its vetting and counter-corruption procedures. But it was praised for its efforts to treat people with fairness and respect, making progress to improve crime investigations.

Parr said: “In view of these findings, I have been in regular contact with the commissioner. I am reassured that the force is taking action to address my concerns.”