Liberty responds to the Met Commissioner’s resignation: it is time for new solutions to keep communities safe

Emmanuelle Andrews, Policy and Campaigns Manager, said: “In the next week we will hear lots of talk about new leadership at the Met Police, coupled with promises of a fresh approach and regaining trust. But changing leadership won’t change the fact that the powers of the police are so broad that they will always be open to abuse. In recent weeks and months we have seen time and again the impact of misogyny, racism and discrimination in policing – from the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer to the sickening texts between officers at Charing Cross.

“What is worrying is that this Government is introducing even more powers through the Policing Bill and taking away our ability to hold it to account with plans to overhaul the Human Rights Act. This will put more people at risk from abuses of power and remove our ability to challenge institutions like the police.

“What we need to do as a society is to reassess our relationship to policing and to question the lazy habit of ‘cracking down’ on issues which can’t be solved by force or the threat of more policing. Instead of tired ‘new broom’ promises, now is the time to have meaningful discussions about how we can better keep communities safe, and prioritise solutions which have human rights and social justice at their heart.”