The Metropolitan Police is once again under the spotlight following a damning report that concluded that it was sexist, racist and homophobic.
The review of Britain’s biggest force, sparked by the murder of Sarah Everard, found a culture of denial that allowed predatory behaviour to thrive.
In her report, Baroness Louise Casey said she could not rule out another Wayne Couzens or David Carrick lurking in the force’s ranks.
She also concluded that the Met was ableist and racist, with officers recounting their experiences of discrimination within the Met.
Here, The Independent takes looks at officers’ testimony of racism, sexism and homophobia.
INSTITUTIONAL RACISM
‘Did you get where you got to because you are Black?’
Both retired and serving officers of colour reported a pattern of applying for promotion, not getting it, and being told that they didn’t have sufficient ‘experience’.
One said: “It took me 11 years to get promoted from inspector to chief inspector, despite putting in countless applications to get promoted. I was always told that I needed more experience in a specific area.”
A senior officer recalled being openly asked in a large meeting of officers in 2022: “Did you get to where you got to because you are Black?”
Muslim officer had bacon put in his boots
“I found bacon left in my boots inside my locked locker,” one officer said. “I was horrified but kept an open mind as to who this could be.
“I was hoping to identify who the culprit was and take appropriate action. I didn’t want to be branded a person who played the race card and out of fear of reprisals did not tell anyone at the time.”
Sikh officer had his beard cut ‘because it was funny’
“There have been a number of incidents where baptised [Sikh] officers are picked on,” another officer said. “One officer had his beard cut because an officer thought it was funny. Another officer had his turban put into a shoe box because they thought it was funny.
“Unless we educate our officers then this will happen.”
SEXISM AND SEXUAL ASSAULTS
‘Testosterone, notches on bed posts and conquests’
Many senior officers in the Met attributed misogynistic and sexist attitudes to the new recruits, those early in their career, “but what we saw and heard contradicted this”, the report concluded.
“The MPS is a male-orientated and misogynistic environment filled with testosterone, notches on bed posts and conquests,” one officer said.
“From the outset of my service I have witnessed senior officers and supervisors prey on females like predators. There is a culture of hit lists, targets and trying to sleep with female officers and staff.
“Women are viewed as inferior and not truly belonging, being judged on looks and physical assets only. Only women who are either attractive or willing to have sex with colleagues are accepted.
“When a woman joins the police or is new to borough or team, they are immediately targeted by men competing to sleep with them.
“Attractive women are parachuted into posts or positions often simply because someone has taken a liking to them wants to gain an advantage over them. The way women dress is spoken about and [it] is deeply uncomfortable.”
Officer performed sex act in front of female colleague
The review spoke with L, a female officer who was sexually assaulted in the workplace on multiple occasions by a more senior male officer.
L says the officer would frequently touch her inappropriately; forcing her to sit on his lap, touching her on intimate parts of her body while she was getting changed in the communal changing rooms and deliberately bruising her arms while claiming he was demonstrating “officer safety moves”.
L says this would happen frequently on Met premises and while on patrol together.
On one occasion he forcibly started to undress her while they were on duty together, and only stopped when a member of the public drove past. On another occasion the officer masturbated in front of her in the communal changing room.
HORRIFYING MESSAGES
‘You ever slapped your missus?’
The review also looked at the content of messages shared by officers which revealed sexist language.
Below is one exchange from a group of officers:
Officer 1: “You ever slapped your missus?”
Officer 1: “It makes them love you more. Seriously since I did that she won’t leave me alone. Now I know why these daft c***s are getting murdered by their s****** boyfriends. Knock a bird about and she will love you. Human nature. They are biologically programmed to like that shit.”
Officer 2: “Lmao.”
Another exchange included shocking remarks about rape:
“I would happily rape you.”
“If I was single I would actually hate f*** you.”
“If I was single I would happily chloroform you.”
HOMOPHOBIA
’Gay and bisexual women are over-sexualised’
LGBTQ+ officers and staff spoke of the openness with which negative comments were posted on the Met’s intranet.
One said: “There are comments after intranet articles, along the lines of ‘why can’t we just get on with the day job, why do we have to care about bi-sexual people?’”
Baroness Casey said her team heard repeatedly that officers in the Met felt emboldened to ask personal questions about the sex lives of gay and bisexual women that they wouldn’t ask of heterosexual officers and staff.
Gay women would be asked questions such as “who’s the man in the bedroom?” or “what percentage gay are you?” They were asked whether they are “up for a threesome”, and asked whether they were “chatting up” members of the public when speaking to them as part of their job.
“My response team were obsessed with my sex life,” one officer said. “They’d ask ‘are you a giver or a taker’ – this would be out in the open...I would laugh it off. I wouldn’t want to cause any grief.
“You just would not ask somebody that. You would not ask a heterosexual man that question. It’s just offensive. There is a huge issue Met-wide with over-sexualisation of gay and bi women.”
MET POLICE RESPONSE
In interviews following the release of the report, Met chief Sir Mark Rowley said he was “deeply sorry” for failings within the force.
He warned issues would not be sorted "overnight" but that he is "passionate" about reform.
“I’m not going to sit in front of Londoners and say ‘We’ll get this sorted overnight’,” he said. “That would lack credibility.
"But month by month, quarter by quarter, they will see progress because we are absolutely determined to deal with the issues identified here."
Sir Mark said there are 30 officers already ringfenced to go through vetting reviews.
"And if those go in the direction I expect then they’ll be leaving the organisation," he added.
