BRITAIN’s police force is facing unprecedented pressure to reform with the conviction of officers for murder and rape and the discovery of pervasive sexism and misogyny among its ranks.
The hardest hit has been the Metropolitan Police in London, which has admitted that it needs to reform its culture after years of claiming that significant misconduct allegations were rare instances.
A police officer was found guilty in the past year of killing and raping a woman he kidnapped while wearing a badge, another was sentenced to more than 30 years in prison for 24 rapes, and two policemen were fired for exchanging images of two sisters who had been slain.
A separate investigation of officers at a central London police station revealed a culture of bullying, ethnic discrimination, misogyny, and sexual harassment. The crimes brought attention to the broader workplace culture.
“We have failed and I’m sorry,” Mark Rowley, the Met’s new chief and Britain’s most senior officer, said in January.
Rowley succeeded Cressida Dick, who was fired in February 2022 after London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, expressed his doubts about her ability to eradicate racism and sexism from the police.
A team has been formed to examine how the force handled complaints that were previously closed against roughly 1,100 officers and employees over the past ten years. These accusations vary from claims of sexual assault to the use of inappropriate language.
Rowley has vowed to regain the public’s faith, but there will likely be more disappointing news first as a significant study on the culture at London’s Metropolitan Police is set to be released soon. The process to purge the force of corrupt personnel will take time as cases must be brought before courts.
An investigation that revealed cops exchanging obscene texts in which they discussed sexually abusing their female co-workers and beating women was one of the most alarming disclosures about the culture of the police.
A police watchdog report last November cited a survey of 11,000 officers and staff as showing “an alarming number” faced “appalling behaviour by male colleagues”.
Among its findings were male officers stopping cars driven by women they regarded as pretty in a practice they called “booty patrol”, senior officers pestering junior ranked women for sex and officers watching pornography at work.
According to police statistics, a record 251 claims of sexual offences against officers were submitted in 2021, with 190 of the charges coming from inside sources such as co-workers or personnel.
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