The review comes after several high-profile events in the last year, including the killing of the woman, Sarah Everard, have revived scrutiny of the police department and Britain’s justice system. “We depend on public trust,” said Cressida Dick, the head of the Metropolitan Police, as she announced the review on Monday. “In this country, policing is done by consent, and undoubtedly the killing of Sarah and other events has damaged public trust.” Ms. Dick said the review would be led by a “high-profile independent person,” and would examine the internal culture, professional standards, systems and leadership training in the force.
Watchdog groups had pushed for a public inquiry into the police department’s approach to violence against women and the behavior of its officers, and there were renewed calls last week for Ms. Dick to resign. During last week’s sentencing hearing for Mr. Couzens, harrowing new details emerged about the way he used his position of authority and police equipment to falsely arrest Ms. Everard before abducting, raping and killing her. The unit, containing hundreds of officers, is responsible for protecting the Houses of Parliament and foreign embassies, and it also provides officers to safeguard government ministers.The advice was accompanied by a list of other measures that the police had taken or planned to take after Ms. Everard’s killing, but many critics said they did little to address the internal failings of the police to hold their own to account and combat violence against women more broadly.
Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/world/europe/uk-police-behavior-review.html