Our police are policing a 21st century world with 20th century tools, writes former policing minister

7 May 2025, 07:00 | Updated: 7 May 2025, 09:54

Police are ill-equipped to deal with 21st-century problems - as shown by the Southport murders.

The Official Inspectorate’s report on the police response to the Southport disorder is a stark reminder that our police are being asked to confront 21st-century problems with 20th-century tools.

While the bravery of officers during the unrest following the tragic murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Da Silva Aguiar rightly deserves praise, the report lays bare how ill-equipped our forces are to deal with the digital triggers of such events. False narratives spread online at speed, fuelling real-world violence before traditional policing structures can catch up.

This isn’t just about riots. Across fraud, cybercrime, online sexual offences, and even internal vetting, our police forces are struggling to keep pace with technological change. Criminals have moved online, often operating anonymously, globally, and in real time. Meanwhile, policing remains largely grounded in physical geography and legacy methods.

That said, there are areas where advanced capability does exist; counter-terrorism stands out. Here, we’ve seen how sophisticated digital tools, strong intelligence work, and inter-agency collaboration can deliver results. But the sharp edge of policing in a few specialised units has not yet transformed the broader service. That kind of strategic, modern approach needs to become the norm across all areas.

I’ve seen this challenge before. As Deputy Mayor for Policing in London during the 2011 riots, I recall how the spread of rolling 24-hour news was identified as a factor in the contagion of violence from city to city. Information moved fast, but not uncontrollably so. Today, the pace is radically different. The news doesn’t roll; it flashes, pings, and floods into every palm within seconds. Social media has replaced TV as the vector, and false narratives can inflame tensions before police commanders are even aware there’s a problem. The lesson then, as now, is clear: speed and coordination matter more than ever.

The report makes clear that policing cannot afford to be passive when public safety is at stake. But more than that, it forces us to confront two uncomfortable realities.

The first is whether we are expecting the police to do too much with the wrong tools. Many of the challenges we now face—misinformation, algorithm-driven outrage, encrypted criminal networks—are not just law enforcement problems. They are systemic problems involving regulation, technology, and communications. We may need to build entirely new capabilities, or even new institutions, to address them properly.

Second, we have to acknowledge that we are applying outdated tactics to evolving threats. Misinformation and extremist content don’t trickle; they erupt. Harm can be caused in minutes, while our legal and enforcement frameworks move at the pace of months. The Online Safety Act, well-intentioned as it is, will be ineffective unless there is the power and speed to remove harmful content immediately when public order is at risk.

I sit on the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee and our current inquiry into disinformation and algorithms is timely. We need to understand how virtual communities operate, how harmful narratives gain traction, and how the design of social media platforms may be actively working against public safety. These aren’t fringe concerns; they are now central to keeping the peace in modern Britain.

No one doubts the commitment of police officers on the ground. They face down risk, absorb pressure, and work in often impossible conditions. But to do their jobs effectively, we must give them the systems, training, and structure to match the world we live in now—not the one that existed a generation ago.

________________

Kit Malthouse MP is the former Policing Minister & London Deputy Mayor of Policing.

LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

To contact us email opinion@lbc.co.uk