Met admits 'letting public down'

Scotland Yard has admitted to "letting down the public" after it was criticised by the police watchdog for the way it handles complaints of racism by its officers.

A report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found that the Met was failing to deal with complaints "robustly or effectively" after a series of high-profile race incidents involving the force.

Some 511 allegations of racist behaviour by police staff were made to the Met between April 2011 and May last year.

In its findings, the IPCC said there was an "unwillingness or inability" by the Met to tackle complaints and the quality of investigations was "poor" in general. The review also claimed that communication with complainants was poor and the majority of letters were "poorly written, defensive and full of jargon".

IPCC commissioner Jennifer Izekor said race remained a "critical issue" for the Met and called for a "culture change" in the way Britain's largest police force handles complaints.

She said: "Race has been, and continues to be, a critical issue for the Metropolitan Police Service. So, the way that it deals with complaints about allegedly racist behaviour by police officers is crucial to public confidence in policing among London's diverse communities.

"This report shows that, though there are some examples of good practice, in general there is an unwillingness or inability to deal with these complaints robustly and effectively. Too often, complaints are dismissed without proper investigation or resolution, complainants are not properly engaged with, and lessons are not learnt."

Simon Byrne, the Met's assistant commissioner for territorial policy, welcomed the report's findings and said the force was taking "immediate action". He said: "We are determined to be less defensive and accept when we are not performing as well as we should be, and we therefore welcome the report and its findings.

"It is powerful, showing the way we deal with complaints involving racism is letting down the public. We need to understand more about what we are doing wrong as well as taking the best out of where we get it right."

He added: "We recognise that any complaint of racism, which comprise about 3% of all public complaints, has to be taken seriously as such prejudice raises questions about our fundamental values. The vast majority of our employees act with the professionalism and high standards we demand - but, if we do not tackle those that fall below this standard, then we will all be judged on the appalling behaviour of a few."