Overstretched and underfunded, can the Met cope?
By: Grace Peek
Extinction Rebellion protest in London 2019
Last year Extinction Rebellion (XR) overran London’s streets, with tens of thousands protesting for government action against the climate crisis. These protests need extensive planning from the police to protect protestors and maintain order.
The cost of policing these demonstrations are in excess of millions, but with government cuts to the police force, can they afford to police these protests?
The Met’s grant of funding from the government has fallen by £700m since 2009, a 40 percent decrease in real terms. This has led to fewer officers on the ground, over 40 police stations being closed, and increased fear over the capitals rising knife crime.
Scotland Yard reported that XR protests, over the course of 2019, had cost them £37m. This was £22m more than was spent on violent crime in the same year. “Policing these large-scale protests has always been an issue for the Met,” said Metropolitan PC George Radwell. “but recent years have become more strenuous due to cuts.
We need more officers to deal with the scale of recent protests, but we don’t have the PC’s on the ground.” 8,000 officers were called to police XR’s October uprising, with some officers doing 12-hour shifts.
The Met’s police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, said in a press conference last year: “XR is placing a horrendous strain on London, and on the Met, it is a huge drain on our people’s resources and energy.” London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, has said he will commit an extra £227.6m to the MET in 2020/21.
Claire Waxman, a member of the Mayor’s office for policing and crime (MOPAC), told YOOTS: “MOPAC realises the Met are struggling with their current funds. That’s why in 2020 we have increased their budget, so they can protect London as efficiently as possible.”
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