15,169 claims have been lodged against the Metropolitan Police since 2019, reports Marco Marcelline
The Metropolitan Police Service has paid out more than £41million in damages in the last five years following claims put in against the force.
Figures obtained by Public Interest Lawyers also found that 15,169 claims have been lodged against the Metropolitan Police since 2019.
Examples of claims against the police include malicious prosecution, wrongful arrest, sexual misconduct, assault, traffic accidents and property damage.
Over the past five years, the force has paid out a total of £41,932,739, with the single biggest year being 2023/24 with £11,659,192 in payouts.
The most claims were for public liability, with 5,553, followed by road traffic and malfeasance which both saw over 3,000 claims submitted.
In 2019/2020, 2,869 claims were lodged against the Metropolitan Police, 1,107 of which were settled, the lowest number of claims over the past five years.
A year later, this number increased to 2,961 claims with 1,037 of these settled.
Over the past year, the service has experienced a drop rise in claims compared to 2022/23, totalling 3,030.
Credit: Public Interest Lawyers
A significant number of claims regard sexual misconduct, which has become the main source of complaints to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).
In a May 2022 report, the IOPC said it was “highly likely” the scale of sexual misconduct within law enforcement “remains under-represented”, as not all victims report misconduct, with some fearing they won’t be believed.
A Walthamstow woman is currently appealing a High Court move to throw out her judicial review claim against a 2021 police misconduct hearing into former detective chief inspector.
Kristina O’Connor appealed after the panel decided James Mason could keep his job despite being found guilty of gross misconduct for making email advances to her with a “heavy sexual overtone”.
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