The Met Police has a culture problem. Lessons from the corporate world could fix it.
With an avalanche of scandals over police misogyny and sexual violence, Audley’s Lucy Thompson argues that there are lessons to be learnt from the corporate world when it comes to cultural change.
Last week Met PC David Carrick was found guilty of sexual offences against more than 12 women, including 24 cases of rape. As a member of the protective services, he abused his power as a police officer in circumstances that feel horrifyingly similar to the murder of Sarah Everard.
New research has found that more than 40% of British people no longer trust the police, with women more likely to report a fall in trust. This is hardly surprising given reports from the Metropolitan Police that it is investigating 1,000 sexual and domestic abuse claims involving around 800 of its 35,000 officers. This amounts to 1 in 50 officers in London under investigation – a far cry from what Cressida Dick once described as the occasional ‘bad ’un’.
Rather than dealing with one bad apple, addressing the force’s rotting core and rebuilding trust is the great task Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley took on in September.
In the wake of one of his officers being revealed as one of the UK's worst serial rapists and with two-to-three Met police officers due to face trial for an offence every week, Sir Mark has vowed to make radical changes to raise standards and address misogyny, corruption and racism in the force. However, reforming a nearly 200-year-old institution, which by its very nature should be setting the standard for good behaviour, is no walk in the park.
Changing the leadership culture; changing systems and practices; changing recruitment processes: these were the commitments Sir Mark made on his most recent media round. Interestingly, it was language that wouldn’t appear out of place in a corporate boardroom.
The challenges of reforming culture and standards, and motivating employees to uphold these standards, are not unfamiliar to the private sector. They can also make or break an organisation. Last year companies such as Nike, Tesla, Mattel, Sony, Rio Tinto and Goldman Sachs found themselves battling allegations that their workplaces were hotbeds of sexual harassment, sexual discrimination, racism and bullying.
Although culture cannot be changed overnight and the impact of Sir Mark’s initial actions are yet to be seen, it is evident he has taken note of leaders who have come before. His initial actions already demonstrate the hallmarks of lessons learnt in organisational and cultural change from the corporate world.
The tone at the top
The solidaristic nature of the police force has in the past led to an invisible wall surrounding wrongdoers, with many afraid to speak up about bad behaviour. Although an anonymous anti-corruption hotline was launched in November, female officers have expressed a fear of retribution if they use this.
A culture that prevents speaking out has been highlighted as a significant barrier in the private sector. Harvard Law School found that employees are fearful about reporting to a hotline because they don’t believe they have the same shared values with the company, or believe the ‘tone at the top’ is not one that rewards ethical behaviour.
As such, reinforcement from the top is key to cultural change. Unlike his predecessor, Sir Mark has not been afraid to speak bluntly about the scale of the problem. He has identified the core issues at hand, apologised directly to victims and pleaded transparently for the public’s patience as he takes steps to clean up the force. Acknowledging that the force has a systemic problem is the first step towards organisational change.
Communication that brings people with you
As the new commissioner, Sir Mark has the advantage of representing change, but a toxic culture doesn’t leave with a leader, or indeed a CEO. The most important audience is your employees, who are on the frontline and will be the movers of true change. As such, it is essential they are brought on a transformation journey with effective communication.
Sir Mark has reinforced his regular messages to the public with statements to his team which are ruthlessly clear about expectations, while being empathetic to the ‘honest’ majority.
In response to Baroness Casey’s damning report in October, he spoke directly to his colleagues in a video on LinkedIn. He outlined three attainable behaviours he wanted to see from the Met Police, encapsulated by this clear message: the standard you walk past is the standard you endorse.
The video also demonstrated great humility, with his acknowledgement that leadership had let everyday officers down. Rather than imposing rules, his message was framed as a shared mission to change standards. Sir Mark also called on the majority of officers who have a “shared sense of vocation to protecting and serving the public” to reflect and compel this change, rather than revert to defensiveness.
Aligning culture with your strategy
Words are important, but if statements of intent do not align with the broader mission and strategy of an organisation they risk falling by the wayside. CEO of Microsoft Satya Nadella has given arguably one of the best examples of aligning culture with an overall business model. In his first shareholder meetings as CEO, he made it clear that Microsoft’s ability to adapt culturally would be the leading indicator of the company’s success. This has continued to be a priority for the company ever since.
In his first few months, we have seen Sir Mark take steps to do this. In his post about his first 100 days as leader, he describes steps to “create a new strategy and performance framework that will fundamentally reform policing” and deliver “More Trust, Less Crime and High Standards”. The positioning of ‘High Standards’ and ‘More Trust’ at the same level of importance as ‘Less Crime’ is an indicator of the new direction the force is moving in.
Words are important, but they must be supported by action and investment. We saw this two weeks ago, with the Commissioner announcing his ‘Turnaround Plan’ which included greater resources to go after rogue officers, stronger neighbourhood policing and an uplift of 1,600 PCSOs.
Recruiting for the culture you want, not have
There is a well-known business case for hiring to change your culture for the better, but the Met’s recruitment challenges are no doubt more serious than your average corporation. The Times has reported that recruits are being hired without face-to-face interviews, and due to poor vetting there have been cases of people joining the force having committed crimes as serious as child sex offences.
With external pressures to meet the government target of 20,000 new officers within three years and existing procedures leaving the Commissioner “unable to sack toxic officers”, there is a long way to go when it comes to recruitment, particularly with mounting concerns over pay squeezes. As the force seeks to move in a new direction, it would do better to consider quality over quantity in recruitment and look to bring outside voices in. What are the ideal qualities of a police officer in 2023 and how can the force recruit officers with the attributes needed to drive cultural change?
Whether it is in the public or private sector, cultural change is the hardest kind of change to bring about, and the reports that have emerged about the UK’s largest police force are shocking. So far, Sir Mark is taking steps that are not dissimilar from those taken by leaders in the business world to drive a cultural transformation, but momentum will be key as more reports of misconduct threaten to erode the impression that change is happening.
However, with this new direction and a renewed will to do better, hopefully the darkest days of the Met Police could soon be over.
By Lucy Thompson, Senior Associate at Audley