The Met deprioritised teams dealing with rape and abuse of women while firearms officers got “any toy” they wanted, Baroness Casey has said.
Speaking after the publication of her damning review into the Metropolitan Police, Baroness Casey said she was left personally shocked at how under-resourced teams dealing with domestic abuse and rapes were - while financial restraint went out of the window for elite units with some of the worst behaviour.
She said it was “extraordinary” and “symbolic of so much of how the Met has gone wrong”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday morning, she told how she sat across from a senior murder detective at the force who told her that if a woman was raped and killed, the case would be prioritised.
But if a woman was raped and left in a coma, she would be dealt with by “hard-working but dilapidated” protection teams.
“And I looked across the table at her and I thought, how on Earth did we get to this situation where meanwhile, back in the firearms command, back in New Scotland Yard, resources are a-plenty,” she said.
“Their use of consultancy budget, their use of contractors. The fact that the guys that hold the firearms, get any toy, frankly, they want at all. That sounds brutal, but it is true.”
The Casey report, a 300-page catalogue of failings and abuse across Scotland Yard, found there was “a deeply troubling, toxic culture" at the Met’s specialist firearms command, known as MO19.
The unit splashed cash on “unnecessary, high-end” gear such as tomahawk axes and pointless night vision goggles, with officers ordering personalised jackets on expenses.
It heard of a number of sexual misconduct issues in the unit, indicating a “clear pattern” of male officers being temporarily moved from command after allegations were raised, only to have the decision overturned by a senior officer shortly after.
In contrast, teams dealing with domestic violence and rapes were left 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.
Baroness Casey said the Met’s publicly-stated pledge to tackle violence against women and girls in many ways “rings hollow”.
Speaking also to Times Radio, she spoke candidly about not having full confidence Scotland Yard would treat a report of rape or sexual assault properly.
Asked if she would report a rape or sexual assault to the Met, she said: “So, as a woman, I think it’s absolutely important that when we are assaulted, we always, always make sure it’s recorded."
Asked if she has confidence the force would treat it properly, she said: “No, I don’t have full confidence that they would treat it properly.
“And I know that’s a terrible thing to say, but that’s the biggest thing that they have to change. It still means we should come forward.”
Her report’s findings, which label the Met as institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic, have renewed calls for fundamental reforms of the force.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said it was the “one of the darkest days” in the Met’s 200-year history.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley is battling to regain the public’s trust in the force which had already severely been damaged by the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, and the unmasking of Met PC David Carrick as a serial rapist.
Speaking on Tuesday, Sir Mark apologised to Londoners and said the report’s findings were “deeply worrying”.
He said he accepted Baroness Casey’s findings and that he was focussed on reform - but he declined to echo her use branding of racism and sexism in the force as “institutional”, saying it was a “very ambiguous” term.
