In 1983, Dick joined the Metropolitan Police as a
constable, Within a decade she had been promoted to
chief inspector. where she was initially a superintendent and then chief superintendent and area commander for
Oxford. Operation Trident investigates gang- and gun-related crime; The affair nevertheless almost derailed Dick's career. De Menezes's family opposed Dick's later appointment as Met commissioner. In 2009, the Metropolitan Police Authority promoted her to
Assistant Commissioner Specialist Crime, in charge of the
Specialist Crime Directorate. She became the first woman to become an assistant commissioner. In July 2011, Dick was appointed assistant commissioner, specialist operations (responsible for the MPS's
counter-terrorism operations) following the resignation of
John Yates in the wake of the
News International phone hacking scandal. In this role, Dick oversaw
security operations for the
2012 London Olympics. She held the rank until 23 January 2012. Commissioner
Bernard Hogan-Howe subsequently ousted her from her position as the MPS's counterterrorism head after their relationship became strained. In mid-2014, Dick had been one of three short-listed candidates for the position of chief constable of the
Police Service of Northern Ireland, but
George Hamilton was selected for the role instead. It was announced in December 2014 that she would retire from the police in 2015 to join the
Foreign Office, in an unspecified
director-general level posting. The Foreign Office refused
Freedom of Information requests for information on her job title, role and responsibilities, or her wage. In the
Daily Telegraph, Martin Evans wrote that she had "an unspecified and rather shadowy security role" at the Foreign Office. The appointment was formally made by Queen Elizabeth II, on the
recommendation of Rudd. The term of the police commissioner is five years, although two of Dick's last three predecessors were ousted early. As commissioner, Dick has criticised police budget cuts, saying that they inhibit the MPS's operations, including
counterterrorism efforts; she has attributed rising violent
crime in London in part due to budget cuts. In June 2017, after the terrorist attacks at Westminster,
London Bridge, and
Finsbury Park, Dick called for the government to give more resources for police; budgets and police force strength had declined from a peak in 2009–2010. In 2018, the number of MPS police officers fell below 35,000 for the first time in 15 years; Dick sought to "get to well over 30,500 officers, more than 500 more than we currently have" by the end of 2019. To combat an increase in
moped crime in London (in which criminals on scooters perpetrated "snatch and grab" phone thefts, other
robberies, and
acid attacks), Dick allowed
pursuing police officers to ram moped-riding suspects off the road. The "tactical contact" manoeuvre was criticised by some as unduly risky, but Dick defended the practice, citing a decrease in moped-facilitated crime since police began to use the technique. Dick said that "tactical contact" was used to end moped pursuits on rare occasions by well-trained police who assessed all the risks, adding, that police aimed to "put the fear back into the criminal." In late 2018, the Met under Dick approved plans to allow police officers to conduct armed foot patrols of high-crime residential areas, a break from
the usual practice of British police not routinely carrying firearms. The plan was controversial; the Met stated that the plan would not be a precursor to routine armed patrols, but rather was a limited measure to combat violent, often gang-related crime in London. Dick stated that such patrols would be deployed only in "extreme circumstances" to support the unarmed officers. Criticism of Dick's tenure has focused on the MPS's actions in the aftermath
Operation Midland, a botched MPS investigation into alleged child sex abuse. An inquiry led by Sir
Richard Henriques identified 43 mistakes by the MPS and made 25 urgent recommendations for the MPS to adopt, but a
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report concluded that the MPS had delayed implementing most of the recommendations, with the MPS starting to adopt most reforms in 2019 under pressure from the Home Office. In 2020, however, the
Independent Office for Police Conduct cleared Dick of allegations relating to the investigation, finding no evidence that she had "deliberately misled the public regarding her role" in the operation, During Dick's tenure, racial disparities in the MPS's use of
stop and search were also controversial; black and ethnic minority Britons are many times more likely than white Britons to be stopped and searched by police. Critics contend that the disparity is caused by racial discrimination among police, and that the tactic alienates minority communities. Dick, with the support of Home Secretary
Amber Rudd, staunchly defended the use of stop and search, contending that the measure effectively combats
knife crime and saves lives. In 2018, Dick launched a campaign to increase the proportion of female officers in the MPS. At the time, 27% of Met officers were women; Dick aimed to increase that figure to 50% over time, although she did not set a target date. In 2020, London Mayor
Sadiq Khan and the MPS announced that that police force would aim to have at least 40% of their recruits be from
Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds by 2022; Dick said that the MPS was "not free from racism or discrimination" and the MPS was "committed to eliminating the disproportionate use of force on Black Londoners." Dick has defended the controversial police use of live
facial recognition systems. In 2018, Dick said that police were "hamstrung" by legal limitations over the use of facial recognition. In March 2021, Dick was criticised for Metropolitan Police's handling of a vigil for
Sarah Everard, who was abducted and murdered by a Met officer in south London. At the vigils, officers arrested four attendees, alleging violations of
COVID-19 restrictions on public gatherings. Liberal Democrat leader
Ed Davey led calls for her resignation. Dick defended the MPS's conduct; said that policing was "fiendishly difficult"; and criticised what she called "armchair" critics.
Opposition Leader Keir Starmer, London mayor
Sadiq Khan, campaigners and backbench MPs all criticised the Metropolitan Police. HMICFRS reported in March 2021 that the police "reacted appropriately and were not heavy handed" and were "justified" in their handling of the vigil. A whistleblower within HMICFRS, however, filed a formal complaint alleging that the inspectorate's review of the vigil, as well as other demonstrations, had been marred by a repeated pro-police bias, anti-demonstrator bias in violation of the
Civil Service Code. Reclaim These Streets, which organised the vigil, subsequently prevailed in a lawsuit against the Met; the
High Court ruled in March 2022 that the police force had violated participants' human rights to freedom of speech and assembly, and had failed to conduct a proper proportionality assessment when determining what actions to take. On 10 February 2022, Dick announced her resignation as Met Commissioner, stating that "the Mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership".
Ian Blair, a former Met police commissioner, has said
Boris Johnson should not be involved in appointing Dick's successor due to being subject to a police investigation over
possible breaches of COVID regulations. Dick left office on 10 April 2022. In January 2023, Met police constable
David Carrick pled guilty to 49 account of sexual offences against twelve women, and lifted reporting restrictions revealed that the Met's mishandling of his case was part of the reason Dick had been ousted. == Personal life ==