London’s police force is institutionally sexist, racist and homophobic, according to a new independent report investigating culture and behavior within the department.
While the force has been closely monitored for months, report, released on Tuesday, offers a damning new review of the police department and perhaps the strongest condemnation yet of its inner workings. It calls for changes in force to fix a host of systemic problems.
The report claims that a ‘boys’ club’ culture is pervasive within the department, the largest body in the UK, which governs London but also has some national responsibilities, and it details a range of Institutional problems lead to a lack of trust. from the public.
Report was ordered after the murder in 2021 of Sarah Everard by a police officer, in a case that shocks Britain and forces the attention of London police into bad behavior. Most recently, a London police officer, David Carrick, sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against 12 women over a 17-year period including rape and multiple counts of sexual assault.
The organization’s response to these and other scandals has included “demeaning them, denying, concealing, and delving into the defense of officers who do not seem to understand the broader meaning of them,” the report found.
Mark Rowley, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, said in a statement on Tuesday morning that the report should be a “catalyst for police reform” and offered an apology from the force.
“The horrifying examples in this report of discrimination, the frustration of communities and victims, as well as the stress faced by the front lines, are unacceptable,” he said in a statement. declare. “We have let everyone down, and I repeat the apology I made in my first weeks to the people of London and to our own people at the Met. I’m sorry.”
While kidnapping, raping and murdering Miss Everarda 33-year-old woman in London, was the impetus for the review; several other prominent cases, including that of Mr. Carrick, were highlighted. broader concerns about misogyny in police station.
In February 2022Cressida Dick, then commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service, appointed Louise Casey, a member of the House of Lords, to conduct an independent review of the force’s internal cultural and behavioral standards.
Ms. Dick went on to resign due to widespread criticism over her handling of issues within her organisation. In an interim report released in October 2022, Ms. Casey outlined a number of longstanding problems within the force. These include delays in resolving misconduct cases and unresolved allegations of sexual misconduct and other discriminatory practices. That report also revealed racial disparities in how cases were handled.
Last year, a report from the UK’s official police watchdog put give a similar assessment of the troubled force, advises that the force must address “shameful” behavior after that investigation reveals widespread bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment.
