26/05/2026
We’re sharing more body-worn video to help illustrate the reality of front-line policing, enhance transparency and increase public trust and confidence in the Met.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley reflects on our approach: “Day in day out, officers across London are doing an incredible job to keep us safe. Much of what they do is out of the public eye, and you only get to see a fraction of their incredible work, whether that's through pursuing and arresting suspects, seizing weapons, or policing major public order events. To help people understand more about the realities of front-line policing, the Met has been working on a new policy which means we will be issuing more body-worn video and doing so quicker
“This change in policy comes at a time where we're increasingly having to defend the actions of our officers. We are seeing videos go viral when officers have been filmed by onlookers and short snippets are selectively edited and posted online, these are often taken out of context or don't show the full interaction. I've spoken previously about armchair critics or those who film at close range, which can obstruct officers and impede their work. This policy is designed to improve transparency and stop false narratives in their tracks.
“The actions of online critics undermine our officers and has real world consequences. Our officers must be able to act decisively to keep us all safe, rather than being concerned around how their actions can be reviewed in slow-time and with the benefit of hindsight. Our officers must know that we have their back.
“You saw this following the attack in Golders Green where some criticised the use of force by officers. As I said at the time, their actions were nothing short of extraordinary, they undoubtedly prevented further injuries and saved lives. My team worked quickly to get out the body-worn video from the officer’s perspective, showing their immense bravery.
“We also face a difficult public order environment, with officers being filmed by people who attend protests. Unfortunately, this behaviour has crossed into unacceptable abuse. No one should have to put up with abuse in their work, and that includes police officers. We released video footage the other week after officers faced racist abuse at a protest. I know many people were shocked and appalled by what they saw, but sadly this is a reality officers face all too often. As Commissioner, I will continue to do everything I can, to make sure those who abuse our officers face the strongest possible punishment.
“We also know Londoners have called for transparency, and that our new policy is another step forward in improving the trust and confidence our communities have in the Met. Our polling shows 60% of Londoners say they trusted the Met more after seeing footage of criminals being caught on our social media channels. If we have tools at our disposal to help improve trust, why wouldn't we use it?
“But, this is not a PR exercise. While we want to use this new policy to showcase excellent work, we know that we need to be willing to put out videos where we have got things wrong or made a mistake. It has to be the good and the bad, so we can make the strides needed to further improve public confidence in the Met.”
