Dame Cressida Dick to continue to lead the Metropolitan Police
Dame Cressida will continue to lead the Metropolitan Police Service until 2024, the Home Secretary has confirmed.
Dame Cressida Dick will continue to lead the Metropolitan Police Service until 2024, Home Secretary Priti Patel confirmed today (10 September 2021).
A 2-year extension to Dame Cressida’s current fixed-term appointment – which was due to end in April 2022 – was granted by Her Majesty the Queen.
In making her recommendation to the Queen, the Home Secretary has had regard to the views of the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as is her statutory duty.
The extension means that Dame Cressida will continue to serve as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police until April 2024.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said:
I am pleased to announce that Dame Cressida will continue to lead the Metropolitan Police until April 2024 and wish to thank her for her service to date.
Her extension will provide continuity and stability as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic and recruit 20,000 additional police officers.
Londoners know there is more to do to keep our capital safe, including by driving down violent crime, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Commissioner and Mayor of London to protect the public.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said:
I support the Home Secretary’s decision to extend the Commissioner’s contract. This will provide the experienced and strong leadership we need as our city emerges from the pandemic.
The Met Commissioner has the most difficult policing job in the country, overseeing the safety of more than 10 million people living, working and visiting our global city. The last four-and-a-half years have also presented significant additional challenges for the Met, including terror attacks, the tragedy of Grenfell Tower, rising public order incidents and policing challenging COVID-19 restrictions.
It’s my role as Mayor to both support the Commissioner and hold her to account and I will continue to do so to ensure we continue to reduce serious violence in all its forms and increase trust and confidence in our police force among London’s diverse communities.
Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said:
I am immensely honoured and humbled to have been asked to extend my time as Commissioner for a further 2 years. I am proud to continue to serve my city.
In the last four-and-a-half years Met teams have dealt with some extraordinary challenges, including most recently in the pandemic, and delivered some fantastic results – critically in reducing violent crimes. In addition, we have grown and modernised.
I look forward to continuing to work with my dedicated, courageous colleagues and the public to create an even more visible, stronger and professional Met. We will strive to prevent and reduce violence and the crimes Londoners care most about, bring more criminals to justice, and protect, support and build the confidence of all our communities.
I’d like to thank the Mayor, the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister for the confidence they have shown in me. I am acutely aware that there are many excellent leaders in policing.
Every day across the capital, officers and police staff come to work focused on protecting people and making London safer – it is not only what the public expect and demand of us, but it is what inspired each of us to join and why after more than 35 years in policing I remain so passionate. Londoners have my word that I will keep working as hard as I can for them and for this wonderful city that I love. I take the responsibilities I have been entrusted with extremely seriously.
The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police is a key role in UK policing. The Commissioner leads the largest force in England and Wales, made up of more than 43,000 officers and staff.
Working with the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and partners across the criminal justice system, the Commissioner is responsible for:
- driving a reduction in crime in London
- bringing offenders to justice
- upholding public confidence in the force
She is accountable to the Home Secretary and the Mayor of London.
The Commissioner also has national responsibilities, including continuing to ensure an effective nationwide response to terrorist threats.
The Home Secretary will continue to support the Commissioner, and other police leaders, with the resources and tools they need to protect the British public.
Under the government’s campaign to recruit 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023, 9,814 additional officers have joined forces across England and Wales as of 30 June 2021. This includes an additional 1,708 recruits at the Metropolitan Police.