New head of Metropolitan Police Sir Mark Rowley starts work

As Sir Mark Rowley takes over Commissioner at Scotland Yard after former boss Dame Cressida Dick resigned in controversial circumstances earlier in the year.

He is joined alongside his new deputy Dame Lynne Owens who swore allegiance to the King on Monday morning, pledging to rebuild public trust.

Sharing his main priorities as the new Commissioner he said: "I will lead a Met that enables Londoners and visitors from all over the world to safely pay their respects to Her late Majesty The Queen.

“Second, as we continue to police local communities, we will begin the journey of reform to renew policing by consent.

“Through my leadership, I am determined to bring more trust, less crime and high standards, and build trust and confidence in our police service once more.”

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In recent years, the force has been plagued by a series of scandals and missteps leaving Sir Mark with the task of rebuilding public confidence.

The Met was also placed in a form of special measures by a watchdog earlier this year.

In a sternly worded letter before his tenure began, then-home secretary Priti Patel demanded that Sir Mark address the “appalling mistakes of the past”.

Listing the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer, strip searches of children, and the abject failures in investigating the deaths of the victims of serial killer Stephen Port are among the key issues that had damaged public confidence.

There is also outrage over a series of disturbing racist, sexist and homophobic messages that were exchanged by officers based at Charing Cross police station between 2016 and 2018, published by a watchdog earlier this year.

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Elsewhere in March, a report by a second watchdog found that the force’s approach to tackling corruption was not fit for purpose after seeing failures including drugs, money and jewellery going missing from evidence stores.

Other issues facing Sir Mark are ongoing investigations into deaths following police contact including Oladeji Omishore who died after jumping from Chelsea Bridge, a man who drowned after trying to swim away from officers to avoid being arrested in Kingston, and Chris Kaba who was fatally shot by an officer in Streatham Hill.

Mr Kaba’s family has called for the officer involved to be “immediately suspended” while the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has launched a homicide investigation into the incident.

Recruitment is another key topic, with the force due to have brought in 4,557 new officers by the end of March 2023 as part of a national drive to replace the thousands of jobs cut during austerity.