London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Sir Mark Rowley: Met Police will attend all London burglary reports

Sir Mark Rowley: Met Police will attend all London burglary reports

The Metropolitan Police will "get back" to attending all reports of burglary in London, the new commissioner has said.

Sir Mark Rowley said the crime was "too serious an intrusion" not to.

Speaking to the BBC, he said it was unacceptable the proportion of reported burglaries attended by an officer from the force had fallen to 50%.

He also said he would root out "racists and misogynists" within the Met as part of plans to rebuild public trust following a series of recent scandals.

Among those, an off-duty police officer raped and murdered Sarah Everard, while two others photographed the bodies of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.

There has also been outrage over racist, sexist and homophobic messages shared by a group of officers based at Charing Cross police station between 2016 and 2018, questions raised over the force's approach to tackling corruption and its use of stop and search, as well as ongoing investigations into deaths following police contact, including that of Chris Kaba, who was shot by an officer.

In June, the Met was placed into a form of special measures by the police watchdog over the way it carries out its basic functions, for neglecting to identify repeat victims, and its delays in answering 999 calls.

Speaking to the BBC earlier, Sir Mark said he wanted to be able to show the public that progress had been made in key areas within 100 days, and to bring the force out of a form of special measures within 12 to 18 months.

The Met faced criticism for how it policed the Sarah Everard vigil


Part of that was a focus on burglaries.

"We're going to get back to the scene of every burglary in the home," he said, adding that the force had the resources to fulfil that pledge.

"We're never going to turn up to every single crime, and the public understand that, but something as severe as burglary needs a proper policing response. It's too serious an intrusion not to have somebody turn up," he said.

"We recently got as low as 50% on that, and that's not acceptable.

"So that's a first step in terms of getting more reliable, alongside putting more officers in communities, which people will see over the next year or so."

Burglaries in London


* For the year ending March 2022, Home Office data shows the Met recorded burglaries at a rate of six per 1,000 people, the fifth highest across England and Wales. Greater Manchester had the highest rate of 8.1 per 1,000 people

* Across all of England and Wales, the rate was 4.5 per 1,000 people

* Home Office data shows of the 53,965 burglary offences recorded by the Met in those 12 months, only 4% have resulted in a charge of summons; while 66% were completed with no suspect identified

* This is similar to rates across England and Wales

Sir Mark also said the force needed "to be ruthless in rooting out those who are corrupting the integrity of the organisation; the racists, the misogynists".

"Of course the organisation hasn't deliberately supported them, but unless leadership, culture, systems, technology, resources are all lined up to do it, then a wish doesn't become a reality and it hasn't been a reality."

He added: "Everyone deserves a chance for an honest mistake but we can all see the difference between an honest mistake and toxic and corrupting behaviour."

The commissioner said the force had let the public down as well as people within the organisation, the "good majority who come to work and do amazing things on behalf of the public day in and day out, and have been let down by their colleagues who have not been robustly dealt with, and let down by not being set up properly to succeed with their job. That's what I'm trying to deal with".

Sir Mark, who says the Met is also reviewing its recruiting and vetting approaches, added: "I want to speak to the people who are angry but constructive because they want policing to succeed.

"I don't want to talk to people who are more interested in their own position or politics, I want to talk to the people who really care about policing.

"I don't care how angry they are, I want to talk to them if they want to help me fix it."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×