Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, has called for a major overhaul of the criminal justice system, warning that criminals are escaping prosecution because it has become too difficult to secure convictions.
Speaking at a Policy Exchange event in London on Monday, Sir Mark said it now takes at least five times more work to take a case to court compared with 20 years ago, due to growing bureaucracy. He attributed the rising number of unsolved crimes – now exceeding 90 per cent of recorded offences – to this inefficiency.
“By some measures it now takes at least five times more work to get a case to court for the police and the CPS as it did 20 years ago,” Sir Mark said. “When I see what is expected of officers it is way beyond what was expected of me as a Detective Sergeant 30 years ago.”
The Commissioner argued that an overly costly and bureaucratic system inevitably achieves less, leading to fewer solved cases and successful prosecutions year after year. He called for eliminating unnecessary burdens that distract officers from fighting crime.
Sir Mark also vowed to continue rooting out rogue officers, but noted that the complaints system and other rules sometimes hinder honest officers. “We have a system of oversight and policy that discourages [officers],” he said, stressing the need for officers to act with confidence against dangerous criminals.
