By Eniola Amadu
The Metropolitan police (MeT) will pass through a new inquiry to determine whether they have undergone meaningful reform following a damning report that exposed deep-rooted prejudice and systemic failings.
This follow-up examination, codenamed as “Casey 2,” was expected to commence earlier in the year but has been postponed.
This follows a review by Louise Casey in 2023 review, which revealed that the Met exhibited institutional racism and misogyny and warned that it might be dismantled if significant change did not occur.
A new person was appointed to carry out the inquiry following two recent scandals which prompted the Met to act.
The newly appointed individual is the chair of the Disclosure and Barring Service – Dr Gillian and is expected to be announced officially later this month.
The chair of the National Black Police Association, Andy George noted that to break through the Met’s excuses and reveal what truly happened.
“It needs to be somebody who is relentless in pursuing the truth, someone who gets beneath the rhetoric. We fear Casey 2 might be another buying-time exercise.
“Things have not changed. The commissioner has been given too much time and space to do things his way.”
Former chief superintendent of Met, Dal Babu said: “It is important to have an independent review of Baroness Casey recommendations into her findings of institutional racism, institutional misogyny and institutional homophobia.
“Although some progress has been made, the Panorama programme demonstrates there is much more for the Metropolitan Police Service to do.”
The Casey report was ordered by the police following the abduction of Sarah Everard by one of its officers in March 2021, before she was raped and murdered.
The review uncovered a culture of bullying, with frontline officers feeling demoralised and unsupported by senior leaders, and found that discrimination was “embedded within the organisation”.
“If sufficient progress is not being made at the points of further review, more radical, structural options, such as dividing up the Met into national, specialist and London responsibilities, should be considered to ensure the service to Londoners is prioritised,” Casey warned.
