British London Police Chief Kresida Dick announced her resignation on the 10th, because a series of scandals such as gender, racial discrimination and police killings have caused the public to lose confidence in the police station, and also let her and the mayor fall into a dispute.
Dick said in a statement that after communicating with Mayor Sadiq Khan, he found that he was clearly "no longer fully confident in my continued leadership [of the police]."
Police patrol the Kensington district of London, England, on 1 November 2020.
Dick described himself as "very distressed" but "had no choice but to resign as director. However, she will stay in office briefly to ensure the stability of the police station until a successor is determined.
Sadik Khan said later on the 10th that the only way to quickly reform the London Police department was to roll out a "new leadership". He had previously vowed to fire Dick, arguing that she had not done enough to reform the police station.
The Independent Office of Police Conduct, a watchdog agency, released a report last week condemning more than 10 police officers for discriminating against women, bullying, sexual harassment and other practices, according to the Associated Press. Most of the police involved are under the London Chaling Cross Police Department.
The report said that the police joked about the rape case and blew up on social media, which was a common practice.
Separately, London police officer Wayne Cousins was charged last year with kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah Everard, a woman who walked home at night, shocking the country and causing Dick to face pressure to "get out of class".
This is a photo of people mourning the murder of woman Sarah Evrad on March 15, 2021, taken at Clapham Public Green in south-west London, England.
Sadik Khan said last week that Dick's response to calls for police reform did not satisfy him. He believes that the London Police urgently need to regain the "trust and confidence" of the people and eradicate gender, racial discrimination and other issues.
Dick admitted on the 10th that the Evrad case and "many bad cases in recent times" have undermined the public's confidence in the police station. But she said the police department has turned its full attention to rebuilding trust.
According to Reuters, the London Police Department has a 193-year history. Dick, 61, has extensive counter-terrorism experience and became Chief of The London Police in 2017, the first female chief of the police station.
(Original title: "London Police Department Scandal After The Chief Resigns")