21 March 2023 , 00:01
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Britain's biggest police force is institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynistic, a damning report concludes today.
Baroness Louise Casey, commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder, said she could not guarantee there are not more officers like killer Wayne Couzens in the Metropolitan Police.
She has recommended that the “broken” force be abolished if it does not change its “rotten” culture in the next five years.
In one of the darkest days in the Met’s 94 year history, Baroness Casey concluded that the force cannot be trusted to weed out bad cops as its current systems “support wrongdoers” while complainants are “not believed”.
She said: “It is absolutely vital that the Metropolitan Police wake up today to the findings in this review. They are very grave and they are very serious. There must be fundamental change.”
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Casey called for a “complete overhaul” and a “new approach to restore public trust and confidence”.
Asked if there could be more officers like Couzens and serial rapist PC Carrick in the force, she said: “I cannot sufficiently assure you that that is not the case.”
Sir Mark Rowley, who succeeded Dame Cressida Dick as commissioner in September, refused to accept that the force is institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynistic.
Describing the 363 page report as “deeply saddening”, he said: “We under no illusions about the significance of this moment.
“This report must act as a catalyst for police reform. We have let people down. I am deeply sorry.”
Relatives of Stephen Port’s victims, who were killed following a string of failings by police, have called for a public inquiry.
Baroness Louise Casey said she could not guarantee there are not more officers like David Carrick in the Metropolitan Police (PA)The sisters of Port’s fourth victim, Jack Taylor, Donna and Jenny, said: “You can’t put it right and change the culture if you don’t know what’s going wrong, why it’s going wrong, or fail to fully investigate the root of the problems.
“That is why there must now be a public inquiry into how and why this force is failing people so badly.”
London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “The evidence is damning.
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“Baroness Casey has found institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia, which I accept.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: “For 13 years there has been a void of leadership from the Home Office, which has seen Britain’s policing fall far below the standards the public have the right to expect.”
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “There is much more to do and the task of rooting out unfit officers means that further unacceptable cases will come to light.”
The report was commissioned in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder (PA)
The report echoes findings made in the MacPherson report after Stephen Lawrence's death in the 1990s (PA)The report revealed claims of rapists and paedophiles escaping justice after a packed fridge holding forensic evidence overheated last summer, ruining the samples.
The coolers were held closed with bungee cords and officers contaminated the samples by keeping their lunch in one, the report was told.
Casey told journalists: “It’s symbolic of an organisation that’s lost its way.”
In other shocking cases, a Muslim officer told how colleagues left bacon in his shoes while another cop said they were told to delete WhatsApp messages showing wrongdoing during meetings with senior officers.
Casey branded the misconduct and vetting systems as “not fit for purpose” and called for outside investigators to be drafted in to take over.
She has ordered the Met to apologise for past failings and overcome a “deep seated” culture that has previously blocked change.
She wrote: “We have found institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia in the Met. Tackling discrimination is a legal and operational imperative for the Met.”
The report found that “de-prioritisation and de-specialisation” has put women and children at greater risk.
This coupled with savage Tory cuts has left an “overworked, inexperienced workforce” investigating child protection, rape and serious sexual offences cases.
The force has a “we know best attitude”, dismissing criticism, and does not “own” its failures, believing no-one outside the Met can understand the “special nature and unique demands” of its work.
Dame Cressida resigned last year after it was revealed that officers at Charing Cross police station had used WhatsApp inappropriately (AFP via Getty Images)“This hubris has become a serious weakness,” the report said.
It has a “culture of denial”, and many of the concerns exposed in the report have been raised before.
Those who speak up “learn the hard way that there are adverse consequences for themselves, for their careers, and for their teams.”
Casey found a culture of elitism and bullying and a failure of the Met’s leadership to get to grips with a series of misconduct scandals.
Dame Cressida resigned last year after it was revealed that officers at Charing Cross police station had used WhatsApp to joke about raping colleagues and killing black children.
Here are three more harrowing stories to emerge from the report.
Raped and beaten up by fellow cop
A female officer who reported being beaten and raped multiple times by a fellow officer was so distraught by the Met Police’s handling of the case she tried to take her own life.
The woman, known only as A, was forced to recount the harrowing details of the attacks six times in one year and had to move teams to get away from her abuser.
She said: “I was getting so angry and so frustrated with them and I decided I couldn’t do it any more, I’m done, I need to get on with my life, I was in an absolute state.
“I had tried to kill myself that year because of the police investigation… it was draining the life out of me.”
After two years of investigation, no further action was taken.
Gay officer hit by vicious lies
An openly gay officer said he was so scared of his colleagues that he changed his walking route in an effort to avoid them while off duty.
He was the victim of malicious lies from colleagues who claimed he had given senior officers sex for favours and taken drugs.
The officer said WhatsApp messages exchanged by colleagues revealed they planned to target him with stop and search.
He said: “This will sound quite laughable. I am scared of the police.
“I don’t trust my own organisation.
“I will vary the route I walk to avoid walking past police officers when I am not at work.”
Sex obsessed and coercive
A black female officer, named only as H, said male colleagues were "sex obsessed".
She was described as "job fit", a term she understood to mean attractive for an officer.
The report revealed: "H says young female officers were traded like cattle and moved on to units depending on which male officers found them attractive.
"She described women being forced to eat whole cheesecakes until they would vomit. She was told of a male officer being sexually assaulted in the showers, something she says officers would openly joke about."
H had a coercive relationship with a senior officer, who she claims made allegations when they split up that lead to her arrest and being put through the misconduct system.