This article includes references to rape, murder, and racism.
Earlier this year, Baroness Casey published a review of the Met Police's culture and standards – and the findings were damning.
And now, a new investigation has determined that sexual misconduct and racism claims are proportionally higher in English police forces other than the Met (via The Guardian). Essex*, Suffolk and Staffordshire police forces had proportionally more officers under investigation due to allegations of racism than the Met, according to multiple Freedom of Information requests.
Here, GLAMOUR unpacks exactly why the Met Police is under so much deserved scrutiny:
There has been widespread outrage against the Met – amped up over the last year – with several high-profile cases pointing to institutional failings and systemic misogyny, racism and homophobia. A recent YouGov poll found that 47% of women and 40% of men had less trust in the police following the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens. The data also found that 76% of women and 71% of all adults polled think the culture of policing has to change in order to better respond to violence against women and girls.
As of 7 February, Met rapist David Carrick, who abused 12 women following “horrific” failures by the force, was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. Just yesterday, the Liberal Democrats found that as of 3 February, more than a quarter of 548 officers being investigated for domestic abuse and sexual misconduct were still working as normal. The force is also currently facing a separate independent inquiry into how Couzens and Carrick were not identified as threats to women and were able to become police officers.
Prompted by Stephen Lawrence’s racially motivated death in 1999, the Macpherson report found that the Metropolitan police were institutionally racist. The entire force was criticised during the 350-page report, which concluded that the investigation into Stephen’s murder had been “marred by a combination of professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership”. This report didn’t tell people of colour anything they didn’t already know. It also didn’t enact serious enough change, which is evident in the fact that twenty-four years later, a new report draws similar conclusions.
Alice Vinten, a former Met Police officer of eleven years, spoke with GLAMOUR about what it was like to serve in the force as a woman: “I witnessed male officers continually discussing female officers' sex lives, asking them probing and embarrassing questions such as 'do you swallow?' and 'would you take it up the a*se?'”
“If a new female officer was coming to the team the men would try and find out what she looked like first, they would ask her tutors 'is she fit?' I was shown hardcore pornography on more than one occasion,” Alice told us.
Those at the top cannot continue to blame ‘bad apples’ – the Met is rotten to the core.
Alice heard many male officers stating that 'most' rape investigations were a ‘waste of time’, they’d say that it was “women lying about 'regretful sex' or that they'd cheated on their boyfriends and so reported rape so they wouldn't get caught.”
Whitehall sources described the Casey report as “do or die” for the force, with hard-hitting recommendations being made, including the establishment of a new oversight board and the disbanding of the unit in which Couzens and Carrick both served.
Those marginalised by the Met will not be surprised by the review findings. But it is powerful to see it all, laid out in black and white. It’s vindicating for those of us who have been fighting for change. It should be seen as fact, now, that the Met police force is systematically biased and corrupt. It should be obvious that serious reform and overhaul are needed. Those at the top cannot continue to blame ‘bad apples’ –the Met is rotten to the core.
“Dangerous men are attracted to the power of policing, and the current culture has allowed them to not only remain, but flourish, within the ranks of the Met.”
What were the main findings of the Casey report?
The Met is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.
We have found institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia in the Met. In coming to this conclusion, we have applied four tests. We believe these can be applied in respect of homophobia, misogyny and racism but we have applied them in respect of racism below.
London’s women and children have been left even further behind
"The de-prioritisation and de-specialisation of public protection has put women and children at greater risk than necessary.
Despite some outstanding, experienced senior officers, an overworked, inexperienced workforce polices child protection, rape and serious sexual offences. They lack the infrastructure and specialism which the Sapphire specialist command benefited from. Instead of access to fast-track forensic services, officers have to contend with over-stuffed, dilapidated or broken fridges and freezers containing evidence including the rape kits of victims, and endure long waits for test results.
It is more than six years since the 2016 HMIC report into child protection was described as “the most severely critical that HMIC has published about any force, on any subject, ever.” But the Met’s child protection service continues to have major inadequacies.
The Met’s VAWG strategy rings hollow since its claim to be prioritising ‘serious violence’ has really not included the crimes that most affect women and girls. Those investigating domestic abuse are also under considerable pressures, with unmanageable caseloads and poor support for victims. This has increased the disconnection from Londoners."
Discrimination is tolerated, not dealt with and has become baked into the system
"We have found widespread bullying, particularly of those with protected characteristics. 22% of staff and officers experienced bullying. There is a profound culture across the Met that incentivises people to look, act and sound the same, and a resistance to difference.
33% of those with a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity have experienced bullying. Claims for disability discrimination is the most frequent claim type brought against the Met. But there is no willingness to learn from these cases.
There is deep seated homophobia within the Met, as shown by the fact that almost one in five lesbian, gay and bisexual Met employees have personally experienced homophobia and 30% of LGBTQ+ employees have said they had been bullied. Trust, confidence and fairness scores among LGBTQ+ Londoners have fallen significantly.
Female officers and staff routinely face sexism and misogyny. The Met has not protected its female employees or members of the public from police perpetrators of domestic abuse, nor those who abuse their position for sexual purposes."
People have lost trust in the Met
“The Met has become less effective and is less trusted. Public confidence has dipped below 50%. Fewer Londoners agree that the Met treats everyone fairly, and the proportion of people believing that the Met does a good job for London has also fallen.”
The Review interviewed female Met police officers, and the case studies are shocking. One officer (named as Officer A) was 'repeatedly raped by colleague' (named as Officer X) and as a result tried to take own life: “He smacked me round the face, I lost consciousness, he raped me. I had a black eye, a split lip.” She told the review that she and X remained on the same team despite her pleas to her supervisors for them to be separated.
The case was passed between six different investigators in the Met's misconduct system in a year, with the officer being asked to give her account of what had happened each time. She told the review that “I had tried to kill myself that year because of the police investigation, it was draining the life out of me.”
Other case studies include a female officer who said she was sexually assaulted in the workplace, multiple times, by a more senior male officer, and was labelled a troublemaker for reporting it. She was told “It's your word against his,” and that her alleged abuser had a “long, unblemished career in the Met.”
Alice hopes that the report has laid bare the levels of misogyny that are within the ranks of the Met, “It has always been a patriarchal organisation and most officers and leaders (mostly men!) don't seem genuinely interested in changing that. We have to hear all the awful things that they have been getting wrong for years, before they can be fixed.”
“Dangerous men are attracted to the power of policing, and the current culture has allowed them to not only remain, but flourish, within the ranks of the Met. I'd also like the arrogant 'us and them' and 'we know best' attitude of many senior leaders to be challenged. We were taught at a [Met training school] from day one – never apologise. It's exactly this attitude that needs to be eradicated.”
There are different schools of thought on what needs to happen next, but hopefully most people will now agree that reform is overdue and necessary, #ACAB or not.
Alice believes that the Met needs to be more open to criticism, to move forward, “they must be willing to listen to women, the black community and the LGBTQ+ community more readily, drop the defensive attitude and work with everyday Londoners to rebuild trust.”
“Women should be able to feel safe walking in their city at night. Not only have the Met failed to protect them, but they have handed power to dangerous men and set them loose with guns and warrant cards,” Alice adds. “I honestly don't know how the trust can be rebuilt - or if it can - for starters every officer who is found to have harassed a woman, domestically abused someone, used sexist language, committed any VAWG offences, or have a conviction for any crime, need to be dismissed. We cannot continue to see officers like Terry Malka (caught masturbating on a train twice) keep their jobs. Until the Met takes a zero-tolerance stance on misogyny, it cannot rebuild trust.”
In response to the report, Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told Sky News that he accepted the “diagnosis” of the findings but disagreed with the use of the term, “institutionally racist.”
He added: "We're removing officers more quickly. We're tackling these issues. And meanwhile, day in and day out, I've got the officers of the force who are coming forward, and they are absolutely determined to tackle this - the vast majority.
"I was embarrassed and angered by this... and we want to make a difference."
*A spokesperson for Essex police said, “Our approach ensures a better service to the complainant, as they receive a comprehensive report in response to their concerns and any issues arising about officer behaviour are identified. This does also mean that we would expect our figures to be higher than those of some other forces.”
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