By Meera Selva
Associated Press
LONDON — London’s police force didn’t look far to find their new chief.
Sir Paul Stephenson was officially handed Britain’s top policing job Wednesday, after four months as the acting commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, known colloquially as Scotland Yard.
As the head of the country’s largest and most influential police force, Stephenson will help shape national crime-fighting strategies, handle a budget of 3.5 billion pounds (euro3.7 billion; $4.9 billion) and oversee a staff of more than 50,000. The job comes with a 253,000 pound ($363,000; euro269,000) salary and a five-year term.
Stephenson took over as acting head when Sir Ian Blair stepped down last year after a confrontation with London’s outspoken mayor Boris Johnson.
Under Blair’s watch, the Met had to deal with the July 7, 2005 attacks on London’s transport system, which killed 52 commuters and the four suicide bombers. The chief also had to handle the shooting death of a commuter, Jean Charles de Menezes, who police mistakenly thought was a terrorist.
He also came under criticism for wrongly telling journalists on the day of the shooting that de Menezes failed to obey his officers’ instructions. It turned out that officers rushed in and shot de Menezes as he sat in a subway car.
Stephenson himself faced an early challenge to his authority late last year, after police arrested opposition lawmaker Damian Green and raided his parliamentary offices as part of an inquiry into government leaks.
Opposition leader David Cameron branded the police’s actions “heavy-handed” at the time, but Stephenson maintained his officers had acted correctly.
After announcing Stephenson would remain in the top office on a permanent basis, Johnson said the hiring committee - which included Home Secretary Jacqui Smith - was nearly unanimous in its choice.
“He must inspire confidence in Londoners that their city is getting safer,” Johnson said. “That is what Londoners need and that is what they are going to get in Sir Paul Stephenson.”
Stephenson will also have to revitalize a police force shaken by accusations of misjudgment and racism.
The Metropolitan Police force is still recovering the public dispute that followed a lawsuit by its most senior minority police officer, Tarique Ghaffur.
Soon after Ghaffur went public with his complaints about racism on the force, Stephenson said that all involved should “shut up ... and get on with the job we are paid to do.”
Ghaffur reached an out of court settlement with the force in November but the issue damaged relations between the police leadership and its black and ethnic minority officers.
The Metropolitan Black Police Association said in a statement that the organization would work with Stephenson “to resolve some of the existing challenges in the organization.”
Stephenson will be also be responsible for the police’s anti-terror strategy, and ensuring that London is secure for the 2012 Olympics.
He has been a police officer since 1975. Last June, Stephenson was knighted by the queen for services to policing.