London’s Metropolitan Police force is a “boys’ club” rife with racism, misogyny and homophobia, according to a new report found after a year-long investigation.
The independent investigation was launched in the wake of the 2021 kidnapping, rape and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard by then-officer Wayne Couzens. He began with a quote from the victim impact statement Everard’s mother gave in court, which alluded to the “betrayals of trust” that prompted the review.
While the review was underway, another officer, David Carrick, was jailed for life after admitting to raping, assaulting and demeaning dozens of women over decades, using his badge to lure them.
“It is not our job as the public to keep ourselves safe from the police,” said Baroness Louise Casey, an expert on victims’ rights and social welfare who led the review. “The job of the police is to keep us safe as the public. Too many Londoners have lost faith in the police to do that.”
While investigations were hampered in some cases by budget cuts and austerity measures, the department of 34,000 officers was poorly managed, Casey said. 363 page report saying. He found that the officers were not properly trained or vetted, and some remained on the job even after being charged with domestic abuse or racial harassment.
The rape kits were stored in overloaded refrigerators and freezers, one of which broke down during a heat wave, destroying the evidence it contained and overturning numerous cases.
Casey said the force’s racism, misogyny and homophobia were internal and external, with racist officers and staff and a lack of diversity in the ranks. According to the report, Met officials were 82% white and 71% male, with the majority living outside the city. As a result, “the Met doesn’t look like most Londoners,” Casey wrote.
Racist, sexist and homophobic bullying was commonplace. In one case, a sikh officer the beard was cut off as a joke and another’s turban was hidden in a shoebox, BBC News reported. A Muslim officer found bacon in his boot but said nothing.
“If sufficient progress is not made on further review points, more radical structural options should be considered, such as dividing the Met into national, specialist and London responsibilities,” Casey concluded.
with cable news services
