21 January 2023 , 20:06
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Labour today slammed Suella Braverman for branding efforts to tackle misogyny in the police as “woke.”
Yvette Cooper told the Sunday Mirror the Home Secretary should stop “stoking culture wars” in the wake of the conviction of Met Police sex abuser David Carrick, and “get a grip of the serious problems in vetting, misconduct and standards.”
“The Carrick case was truly shocking,” the Shadow Home Secretary said.
“So too was the devastating murder of Sarah Everard. More so because systems failed and the police clearly failed to take allegations involving violence and abuse towards women and girls seriously enough,”
“Yet when police forces have tried to tackle misogyny or racism among their own ranks, Suella Braverman has just dismissed them as “woke” even though violence against women is an incredibly serious crime.”
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"Suella Braverman should get a grip of the serious problems in vetting, misconduct and standards." (PA)In September, almost a year to the day after shamed former officer Wayne Couzens was sentenced to life for the murder of Sarah Everard, the Home Secretary wrote to forces, urging them to ditch diversity and inclusion programmes.
And in a speech in November, she told police chiefs: “No politically correct distractions, just good old-fashioned policing”
She said police officers’ time is “precious” and the public want them fighting crime, not “debating gender on Twitter”.
Attendees said her address to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) went down “like a bucket of cold sick”.
Police chief Martin Hewitt (Getty Images)NPCC Chair Martin Hewitt said after the speech: “Calling something woke is an easy one-liner that will get you a bit of a headline, and it’s great in social media, but I don’t think it’s particularly helpful.”
Ms Cooper added: “Instead of chasing headlines or trying to stoke culture wars, Suella Braverman should get a grip of the serious problems in vetting, misconduct and standards.
“The Conservatives have failed to show any leadership. Labour will change the law to raise standards in policing. Any officer facing rape or domestic abuse must be suspended, not just put on restricted duties.
“Then there needs to be a complete overhaul of the vetting, training and misconduct standards so they are mandatory and not left for each police force to decide.”
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The reputation of British policing has been severely damaged by recent high-profile events, and the public’s trust in our police has been shaken.
“The Home Secretary has taken immediate action and asked police chiefs to root out any current officers unfit to serve, and has brought forward Part 2 of the Angiolini Inquiry to identify and address systemic issues in our police forces. The Home Secretary has also announced an internal review into police dismissals to ensure that the system is fair and effective at removing those officers who fall below the standards we expect.
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“We are also fully committed to tackling domestic abuse and all forms of violence against women and girls, and we are providing up to £3.3 million through the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan to fund the rollout of Domestic Abuse Matters training to police forces.”