Posted on Mar 22, 2023
Newsday - Met police 'institutionally racist and broken' says new report - BBC Sounds
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A damning new report looking into London’s Metropolitan Police Service has criticised the force for its failure to tackle a racist, sexist and homophobic culture. Baroness Louise Casey has published her review into standards at Britain’s biggest police force, commissioned in the wake of the kidnap, rape and murder of a young woman, Sarah Everard, in 2021 by then-serving officer Wayne Couzens. Baroness Casey says a "boys' club" culture is rife and the force could be dismantled if it does not improve.
The Met's Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley admitted "we have let Londoners down".
Anna Birley is a member of Reclaim These Streets and one of the organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard in London. The vigil itself was was broken up by the police and, when legal action was brought by Birley and other organisers, a court found the Metropolitan Police had breached their right to freedom of assembly.
She told Newsday: "It's not surprising at all... a lot of the core of the problem is around a culture that exists within predominantly white male policing. I do feel apprehensive when I pass groups of police officers in the street and I don't know if I feel confident that if I were in trouble that I could call the police, especially if it was say, a sexual assault, and feel confident that I was going to be listened to, taken seriously, and supported."
The Met's Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley admitted "we have let Londoners down".
Anna Birley is a member of Reclaim These Streets and one of the organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard in London. The vigil itself was was broken up by the police and, when legal action was brought by Birley and other organisers, a court found the Metropolitan Police had breached their right to freedom of assembly.
She told Newsday: "It's not surprising at all... a lot of the core of the problem is around a culture that exists within predominantly white male policing. I do feel apprehensive when I pass groups of police officers in the street and I don't know if I feel confident that if I were in trouble that I could call the police, especially if it was say, a sexual assault, and feel confident that I was going to be listened to, taken seriously, and supported."
Newsday - Met police 'institutionally racist and broken' says new report - BBC Sounds
Posted from bbc.co.uk
London
Police
Law Enforcement
Racism
Sexual Assault
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."In a recruitment meeting, senior leaders said black and Asian people were not joining the Met because they were not clever enough, she said.
Both officers said things could not change in the Met Police unless there was a recognition of racism and misogyny in the force.
"I'm not convinced things will change," the male officer said.
"Things will remain the same until there are a group of top rank bosses who are replaced, in my opinion - the bosses who refused to admit there are issues in the Met."
The female police officer said the next Met Commissioner should be recruited from outside the force.
"Everyone who Cressida surrounded herself with were people who mirrored what she believed. You need an outsider," she said.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Janet Hills - who from 2013 to 2021 served as head of the Met's Black Police Association - said the force needed a "consistent approach and zero tolerance towards people that are racist within policing".
She added that staff found to have committed misconduct or racist behaviour should face dismissal."
..."In a recruitment meeting, senior leaders said black and Asian people were not joining the Met because they were not clever enough, she said.
Both officers said things could not change in the Met Police unless there was a recognition of racism and misogyny in the force.
"I'm not convinced things will change," the male officer said.
"Things will remain the same until there are a group of top rank bosses who are replaced, in my opinion - the bosses who refused to admit there are issues in the Met."
The female police officer said the next Met Commissioner should be recruited from outside the force.
"Everyone who Cressida surrounded herself with were people who mirrored what she believed. You need an outsider," she said.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Janet Hills - who from 2013 to 2021 served as head of the Met's Black Police Association - said the force needed a "consistent approach and zero tolerance towards people that are racist within policing".
She added that staff found to have committed misconduct or racist behaviour should face dismissal."
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