Among the findings related to discrimination, the operation found several text exchanges by officers that were homophobic, mocked non-Christian religions, were insensitive toward disabled people and were derogatory toward Black people and the Black Lives Matter movement. The report calls these communications “deeply concerning,” given the diverse communities served by the police force. They may reflect on officers’ “ability to police communities sensitively and impartially,” it says.
“The seriousness and frequency of such comments that went unchallenged suggested a systemic cultural issue that allowed the behaviour to pervade and persist,” the report says.
The investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) also found several instances of misogynistic comments in officers’ conversations on WhatsApp, among them messages mentioning domestic violence with their partners and rape jokes. Officers who did not share these views were afraid to speak up, the report says.
Highly sexualized, violent or discriminatory messages were described as “banter” by police officers in their defense. One of those messages shared in a police officer group on WhatsApp mentioned officers “attending a festival dressed as known sex offenders and a molested child.”
“The behaviour we uncovered was disgraceful and fell well below the standards expected of the officers involved,” IOPC Regional Director Sal Naseem said in a statement.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Service said, “The conduct of a team of officers at Charing Cross Police Station in central London does not represent the values” of the force. It also apologized to Londoners and acknowledged that the findings “will damage the trust and confidence of many in the Met,” as the service is known.
The behavior and culture of the police force in London came under increased scrutiny recently because of the Black Lives Matter movement and the case of Sarah Everard. A police officer was convicted of kidnapping, raping and strangling Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, although the watchdog investigation took place years before the case.
The IOPC started the investigation in March 2018 after allegations that an officer had sex with a drunk person at a police station.
“Although the matters we investigated occurred three years ago, we know through our independent investigations, the communities we engage with and concerns raised by officers and the wider public, that these were not isolated incidents,” the report says.
Among its recommendations, the watchdog suggests that the force publicly commit to “being an anti-racist organisation with a zero-tolerance position on racist behaviour.” It also recommends that the Metropolitan Police review its guidance and training on the appropriate use of social media, since many of the inappropriate messages found during the investigation were exchanged on these platforms.
“Police officers are required to adhere to professional standards of behaviour at work and in their private life. The behaviours identified indicate that clarity is needed around officers being held to a higher standard than members of the public, even in their private lives,” the report says.
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