‘Nepotism and bias’ rife in England and Wales police leadership, report finds

Inquiry co-chaired by David Blunkett uncovers loss of focus on fighting crime, plus low standards and need for reform Opinion: ‘Police are not woke or anti-woke, or fighting a culture war. We just strive to be fair’ Police leadership in England and Wales is plagued by “nepotism and bias” and too many chiefs have lost focus on fighting crime, a government-backed report has found. The inquiry, co-chaired by former home secretary David Blunkett, found a reset was needed at all levels, with scores of top officers facing misconduct inquiries. The report, released on Monday, covers the 43 forces in England and Wales and finds a “postcode lottery” in how well the public is served. The report said: “We have also identified systemic causes for concern about the consistency, capability and culture of leadership across the service. “Put simply, leadership in policing is not consistently of a high enough standard to provide confidence and trust in the attainment of the service which the public deserves.” Blunkett told the Guardian the police service was not good enough and some of the findings were “staggeringly” poor. The report finds leaders “insufficiently focused on