London Police Linked to Culture of Bullying, ‘Misogyny’ and Racism
A long-awaited report by the UK's official police watchdog reviewed thousands of internal messages between London police officers and found many that were “highly sexualized, discriminatory or referred to violence.” Authorities said the behavior highlighted in the report "does not represent the values” of the force.
Landwebs
A new report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, England’s official police watchdog, found a culture of widespread bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment within the London Metropolitan Police Service where officers routinely made jokes about rape and exchanged racist messages, reports the New York Times. The investigation said the episodes it detailed were not isolated ones or the work of a few “bad apples.” The Metropolitan Police Service said in a statement that the actions of the police officers in central London that the report detailed do “not represent the values” of the force.
A review of thousands of troubling messages between officers, casually described as “banter,” found many that were “highly sexualized, discriminatory or referred to violence” as well as repeated examples of racism and xenophobia. The report said “the messages appeared to be sent without fear of repercussion or consequence.” Some 15 recommendations aimed at tackling the underlying cultural issues in the force included recommending that it “publicly commit to being an anti-racist organization with a zero-tolerance policy toward sexism, misogyny, bullying and harassment.” Additional reading: Can UK Police Face Up to Sexism?, Gareth Bryon, The Crime Report, Oct. 27, 2021.
