Reforms introduced by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper will now grant anonymity to firearms police facing prosecution for shooting suspects unless they are found guilty. This announcement coincides with the recent clearance of police officer Martyn Blake, who was cleared of killing Chris Kaba, a man shot in the head during a September 2022 vehicle stop in Streatham, London.
What is the New Presumption of Anonymity for Firearms Officers?
Cooper said, “presumption of anonymity for firearms officers subject to criminal trial.” Later, the Home Office stated that this right would still be “subject to judicial discretion in individual cases.” She underlined that the Kaba case emerged against a “backdrop of longstanding concerns” regarding police responsibility, standards, and public confidence.
This reform is part of a package meant to increase police responsibility, comprising numerous policies recommended by the former government in March. Establishing a nationwide lessons-learned database will help record deaths or significant injuries resulting from police engagements or pursuits, enabling results to guide future training.
How Will Police Oversight and Accountability Be Strengthened?
Cooper also said reforms would centre on improving police misbehaviour policies and screening processes. “We are acting pragmatically to rebuild confidence, address delays, guarantee high standards are maintained, and ensure clarity,” she said. Bereaved relatives will have an “appeal mechanism” in place should a decision be taken not to seek prosecution.
Former senior judge Adrian Fulford and acting Metropolitan Police commissioner Tim Godwin, following the police killing of Mark Duggan during the 2011 riots, will lead a study into the thresholds for inquests and investigations into deaths. The study will assess whether it is advisable to strengthen the requisite standard for an inquiry to find that someone was unjustly killed.
What Are the Responses from Political Leaders and Police Officials?
Shadow home secretary James Cleverly contended that firearms officers should be entitled to apply their training in their defence during criminal trials. He agreed with most of the government’s suggestions and advised MPs to use prudence in debating police policies. “We have seen too often police leadership bend to inappropriate degrees of public pressure,” he said.
With his force engaged in Kaba’s death, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley praised the suggested improvements and said they were “crucial” in helping to rebuild public confidence. “Over many years, this has produced a culture whereby our police are more concerned about a distorted, lopsided system than they are about the violent criminals they encounter on the streets. Should this go on, it runs the danger of rendering the public less safe,” he said.
What Concerns Do Community Leaders and Activists Have?
Labour MP Diane Abbott for Hackney and Stoke Newington voiced worries that the concept of police officials above the law could seriously sow community ties. “Nothing could be more poisonous for police-community relations than this idea,” she said.
Executive director of the fair policing research group StopWatch Habib Kadiri underlined the need to keep the present level of justification for the lethal use of force. “For the public’s safety, it is of utmost importance that this review preserves the current threshold that officers must meet,” he stated.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer stressed the need for confidence between the public and police: “Both the public and the police must have confidence in the government.”
What is the Current Legal Framework for Police Conduct?
Every armed police officer is personally liable for their conduct per current legislation. Officers cannot neutralise a threat using more force than required. Notwithstanding the situation, a superior officer cannot tell a police officer to draw the trigger or make a prior tactical choice to shoot a subject.
Monday saw Officer Martyn Blake cleared of killing Kaba. Blake, who was suspended during the court process, would be promptly restored, according to the Metropolitan Police.
What Ongoing Oversight Is There from Independent Agencies?
Following Blake’s criminal prosecution, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said Blake would still be subject to a gross misconduct hearing. As is customary when an officer is cleared of criminal charges, the watchdog said it would revisit its conclusions, considering the material given during the trial and any additional police statements. The Met said it would welcome the review considering the complexity of fast-moving and stressful events and make fresh comments to the IOPC.
Regarding the decision, Commissioner Rowley maintained that no officer is above the law but attacked the existing responsibility structure as “broken.” “The more we smash the spirit of good officers, the less they can fight crime—that risks London becoming less safe,” he said.
Why Is There a Call for Caution in Legislative Change?
Asserting it was not a “typical case,” barrister Abimbola Johnson, on a scrutiny board set created by the National Police Chiefs Council to boost confidence among minority ethnic communities, advised against basing legislation reform on the Kaba case. “It is already very rare for us to see police officers being prosecuted under the criminal justice system for actions conducted while in the line of duty.”
