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Rise in attacks on police is due to ‘lack of respect of authority,’ Met chief Sir Mark Rowley tells LBC
19 December 2024, 09:01 | Updated: 19 December 2024, 09:07
The head of Scotland Yard has said a rise in attacks on police officers in London can be put down to a lack of respect towards figures of authority.
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Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley spoke to Nick Ferrari at breakfast on LBC this morning where he revealed that there are 18 physical attacks on police every day on the streets of London, with two officers seriously injured each week.
Sir Mark told Nick: “The aggression and violence officers face is really ghastly.”
“As people are having Christmas dinners, and celebrating over Christmas and New Year, assaults on police officers will go up by a quarter. They do every Christmas because of alcohol and violence.
Watch Again: Nick Ferrari is joined by Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley | 19/12/24
“We have 18 officers a day assaulted. It’s always physical. About half of them are injured. Of those two a week are serious injuries.
“It’s far different to decades ago. The aggression and violence officers face is really ghastly.
Asked why he thinks policing has become so much more dangerous, he said: “I think there’s more weapons out there. The second thing is I think there’s just less respect of authority.
“All institutions suffer this, policing, journalism, politics, teachers, doctors and nurses… assaults in casualty, the challenges that teachers face.
“All institutions and particularly in the public sector, it’s become more legitimate to criticise.
He said often public discourse was “legitimising the violence and the anger that’s out there.”
Man lunges at police officer with a saw as Met releases footage of attacks
Police forces are facing "inevitable" cuts with a £1.3 billion shortfall in funding over the next two years, chief constables have warned.
Ministers have set out a provisional 3.5% real-terms increase in funding for forces, with a third of the total £986.9 million package depending on council taxes increasing by £14 for the average Band D house.
Sir Mark was among police leaders warning of cuts to officer numbers last week.
He told the London Policing Board that the force was facing a £450 million shortfall and could have to cut 2,300 officers and 400 staff.
After the funding level was announced, the force released a statement to say: "Whilst the government has provided additional funding for next year for which we are grateful, the gap remains significant and at this stage, we believe we will still need to make the majority of the tough choices we have planned for.
"We hope that the upcoming Spending Review will help fix our long-term funding issues and put us on a sustainable footing for the future.
"This will be hard for our dedicated officers and staff, but equally will have implications for policing London that we need to work through and communicate when the budget is finalised in the New Year.
"We must now work with the Mayor of London on how best to reduce our services so we live within our means, while doing our best to keep the capital safe."
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP claimed the funding gap is equivalent to employing 3,500 officers.
He said: "Labour have no plan to ensure law and order in this country.
"They threw open the prison doors, and now they risk axing 3,500 officers from frontline duty."
