The Met runs regular annual surveys of lower-ranked officers, civilian staff and volunteers.
The latest poll was conducted between 12th November-14th December 2012 and has been released under Freedom of Information rules.
It shows that just 30% believe they’d get a good service if contacting the Met as a member of the public, down four percentage points since the previous poll in January 2012.
An executive summary accompanying results describes the fall as “the most challenging aspect of the survey.”
The November survey indicates a lack of internal confidence in the Met’s overall professionalism and growing poor morale among the workforce.
Just 51% agree that people across the force “behave in a professional way”, although 81% believe the same is true of their local team.
Although the overall number satisfied with their job has increased since the last poll by 3 points to 50%, the number who would speak highly of the Met as an employer has plummeted 7 points to 32%.
Less than a quarter of respondents (22%) think the force “treats all its people fairly” and just 21% believe it offers good career opportunities while “positive perceptions of work atmosphere” are down 4 points to 35%.
The briefing warns that the figures indicate low morale “across the organisation”.
It also states that “identifying and addressing the root causes of these issues has an important impact on public confidence and satisfaction” because employees who feel they’re treated fairly are more likely to treat the public fairly.
The force is undergoing a series of major change including a redeployment of officers from specialist units to local policing and cuts in the number of civilian staff as it meets funding cuts of £500m by 2016.
The January 2012 report showed that a lost half (49%) agreed with the statement “there are certain communities that do little to deserve the respect of the police” and that 43% agreed that “some victims of crime are more deserving of a good service than others”.
Neither question appears to have been asked in the most recent survey.
London Assembly Member Baroness Jenny Jones said she was “concerned” that morale levels have dropped since the last poll.
The Green party AM and Peer said: “While much of that may be down to the Winsor reforms it should concern the Mayor.”
“The lack of job security for civilian staff combined with no real pay increase to tackle the cost of living means many feel undervalued. I am told police officers are also increasingly overworked and not able to focus on their frontline role which may be contributing to this low morale.
“What worries me most is the result showing that less than a third believes they would receive a good service if they contacted the Met as a member of the public. The decline in this score from last year is of concern.
“How can the public trust that they will receive a good service from the police when the Met’s own staff and officers are not confident about the service they provide. The Mayor needs to restore trust in the police and the service they provide, starting with the Met’s own workforce.”
Scotland Yard has been asked to comment on the survey’s findings.
