Seven in ten Met Police officers failed to make single arrest in YEAR

Seven in ten Met Police officers failed to make a single arrest in an entire YEAR, new figures reveal – as crime hits highest level in two decades

• Seven out of ten Met Police officers have not made one arrest in 2021/2022 
• FOI says 22,753 of Scotland Yard officers, 70.02 per cent, nicked suspects 
• A total of 6.3m crimes were recorded in the year to March 2022, a UK record 
• The figure is 4% higher than the previous all-time high of 6.1m in 2019-2020
• Knife crime has risen by 10%, but is still below pre-pandemic figures

Seven in ten of the Met Police’s 32,493 officers have not made one arrest over the last year, new ‘jaw dropping’ figures reveal. 

According to a Freedom of Information request, a total of 22,753 – seven out of 10 of its officers – did not apprehend a suspect from April 1 2021 to March 31 this year. 

While during the same period 30,265 officers – 93.1% of Scotland Yard’s force – had less than five arrests, the Sun revealed. 

The Metropolitan Police, which is in special measures for the first time ever due to concerns about ‘serious or critical shortcomings’ following a wave of scandals including the Sarah Everard case, said arrests are usually made by its small team of emergency responders. 

The news comes after it was revealed yesterday that police forces in England and Wales have recorded the highest number of crimes in 20 years, driven by a sharp rise in offences including fraud, rape and violent attacks. 

A total of 70 per cent of the Met Police’s 32,493 officers have not made one arrest over the last year, new ‘jaw dropping’ figures reveal. Pictured: New Scotland Yard in London  

David Spencer, Centre for Crime Prevention campaign group director, said: ‘These [arrest] numbers are truly jaw-dropping and raise serious questions about what exactly most police officers are doing with their time and where the Met’s priorities lie.

‘It is time the Met got officers out from behind their desks and into communities where they fulfil their remit of deterring crime and keeping people safe.’

Retired Met detective chief inspector Mick Neville said: ‘In my time, I knew officers who could make five arrests in a few days, not in a year and these would be arrests of burglars, thieves and robbers, which the public want to see.’

The Met told the Sun: ‘Arrests are predominantly made by emergency response teams who are far fewer in number, which explains why arrests per total officer numbers might appear low.’

After it was placed in special measures in June, acting commissioner Sir Stephen House – who took over from Dame Cressida Dick – will now be required to work with London Mayor Sadiq Khan to produce a remedial plan which the police inspectorate will assess. 

Top officers will then be required to meet regularly with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to ensure the required improvements are being made.

It follows further scandals, including the failure to properly investigate serial killer Stephen Port and the revelation of racist WhatsApp messages exchanged by officers at Charing Cross Police Station.

Other calamities included the jailing of two officers for taking photos of the corpses of murdered sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, and Operation Midland – the disastrous probe into fake claims of VIP paedophilia.

The Met’s scandal ravaged former commissioner, Cressida Dick, who stepped down in February after Sadiq Khan said he no longer had confidence in her 

The orange blocks in the graph represent lockdown restrictions, coinciding with falling crime 

A total of 6.3million crimes were recorded in the year to March 2022 ⁠— 4% higher than the previous all-time high of 6.1million in 2019/20, the ONS said yesterday. 

It is also up 16% on 2020/21, when crime levels were affected by Covid-19 lockdown restrictions.

The figures, which have been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), show knife crime, theft and domestic abuse all increased in the 12 months to March.

Police-recorded offences of fraud and computer misuse have risen 17%, from 828,364 in 2020/21 to 965,162 in 2021/22.

Knife crime rose by 10% to 49,027 offences in the year to March, compared to 44,642 in the previous 12 months ⁠— though this is below the pre-pandemic year of 2019/20, which saw 55,078 offences.

Various types of police-recorded crime are now at their highest level since current records began in 2002/03, including the number of rape offences (70,330 in 2021/22), all sexual offences (194,683), stalking and harassment offences (722,574), and all violence against the person offences (2.1 million).

There were 909,504 domestic abused-related offences recorded in 2021/22, up 8% on 2020/21 and up 12% on the pre-pandemic year of 2019/20.

Some of this increase may reflect improvements seen in reporting over the last few years.

Responding to the figures, Diana Fawcett, chief executive at the charity Victim Support, said: ‘Record rises in crime levels are always worrying ⁠— behind these statistics are real people, and being a victim of any crime can have a devastating and long lasting impact.

‘Regardless of the reason for the increase, this huge rise in recorded crime coincides with victims across the country facing agonisingly long waits for trial.

‘With the highest number of cases for 20 years coming into the criminal justice system, we need urgent action to address the backlog of cases, to ensure that those who’ve had the courage to report a crime get the justice they deserve.’

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