I want a force criminals will fear, reveals new Met chief

Britain’s most senior police chief said yesterday that Scotland Yard will be a service criminals fear, as he met officers and staff across London on his first day in office.

Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe, who was brought in following a series of high-profile resignations in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, said he wanted to bring “total policing” to the city by cutting crime, reducing costs and developing the force’s culture.

He began the day in Romford, east London at 5:30am, where he met officers from the territorial support group (TSG) that was heavily involved in last month’s riots.

He made his way west across the city to Wandsworth, before finally heading to the force’s headquarters at New Scotland Yard for 8pm.

“I want to make the Met the best police service in the world,” he told staff.

“It is my intention to build on public trust in the Met and lead a service that criminals will fear, and staff will be proud to work for.

“As commissioner, I have three simple aims: I want us to cut crime, cut costs, and continue to develop the culture of the organisation, and to do all that based on simple but important values of humility, transparency and integrity.

“We will do that through what I call ‘total policing’.”

Mr Hogan-Howe, 53, met officers from the diplomatic protection group, mounted branch unit and marine support unit as he used one of the police boats to work his way along the Thames.

The 26th commissioner also took to the streets of the city on foot, in a car and on the Docklands Light Railway before addressing a 1,000-strong meeting of officers and staff in central London.

He succeeds Sir Paul Stephenson, who quit over the phone-hacking scandal.

Craig Brown