Professor Louise Westmarland, Head of Social Policy and Criminology, was academic consultant for the new six-part series of OU/BBC co-production The Met, which broadcasts from 24 October at 21:00 on BBC One and iPlayer.

Filmed over ten months, the series follows police investigations into some of London’s most serious cases: from complex homicides to human trafficking, sex crimes and criminal gangs, as well as responding to emergency calls. Across six episodes, the series captures the challenges of policing the capital during an unprecedented time of crisis for the Met, with scandals and record low public confidence.

In the first episode, the Murder Investigation Team respond to the fatal stabbing of a 17 year old boy in Sydenham, who died in his mother’s arms, discovering that the mother of one of the suspects had driven them to commit the crime.  The Met’s Modern Slavery Team investigate allegations by a young woman of being threatened with violence and forced into sex work, leading to a gang which traffic young Romanian women. In Lambeth, officers respond to a call that schoolboys are throwing fireworks; a 14 -year-old boy is stopped and searched. They also respond to a call that a man has been seen with a knife in a fast food restaurant. In both cases, nothing incriminating is found and the officers face criticism - “You think you can do anything you want as a policeman and get away with it” - from the public.

Discover more about The Met, with activities such as what to do in a police interview, and about the work of our academic experts Louise Westmarland and Nicky Miller, at OU Connect.