By Gabriel Princewill-
The IOPC needs to make stronger recommendation for change in the police structure and make their system of police regulation more amenable to progressive change.
“Shocking” racist, sexist and homophobic messages exchanged by police officers published by the police watchdog reveals the high level of backward police officers in the force. The fact many escape without consequence after resigning reveals a fundamental weakness in some aspect of the regulator’s structure.
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Details of messages from WhatsApp groups and a Facebook chat group including multiple references to rape, violence against women, racist and homophobic abuse were unveiled by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on Tuesday.
Yet, no fines were imposed against these officers, neither were they prosecuted, despite their committal of what was undoubtedly a criminal offence.
The watchdog took the unusual step of publishing the messages in full , revealing the true scale of obscenity and unethical practice of Metropolitan Police officers based in a now disbanded Westminster team between 2016 and 2018. Many more undetected rotten apples are believed to be festering silently in the force up and down the country.
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A spokesperson for the IOPC told The Eye Of Media.Com that the repeated forms of misconduct in the police force confirms that the practice that allows all types of citizens to join the police force was a fundamental problem that may need to be examined, but emphasized that it is not within their remit to change that.
” It certainly seems troubling that almost just about anybody can join the police force ,whereas that can’t happen in other professions. We are unfortunately seeing a worrying trend of misconduct in some polices forces but the decision on how they are dealt with is one for the Cps. They assess all suspected offences presented to them. They have to decide when it is in the public interest to charge individuals and when an allegation has met the criminal threshold for prosecution”.
Senior personnel in the IOPC in a separate conversation told The Eye Of Media.Com that whistle blowing in the police force needs to be encouraged more to root out the evil cops amongst them tarnishing the image of the committed and honourable officers whose good work for the community is undermined each time unruly and narcissistic misfits who are numbered with a police force appointed to execute the honourable role of enforcing the law fairly and equally.
Too often, disturbing infringements of law by police officers which perpetuates a culture of waywardness and unaccountability are not sent to the Crown Prosecution Service. (Cps) for evaluation. When they do, a test is applied to see whether on the strength of the evidence, there is a higher chance of a guilty verdict or not if sent to trial. This benchmark is also subjectively assessed, many times blurring a personal value judgement and objective law.
Homophobic and racist language were found to have been used in this account, including one entry that said “f*** you bender”, and a number of racist messages including references to African children, Somali people, and too Auschwitz that are too offensive to print. The revelation heaped considerable shame on the police force.
Despite this terminologies being unarguably racist and prejudicial, and crossing the legal threshhold of criminality, pursuing the route of prosecution for manifestly racist conduct is understood to depend on whether prosecuting such comments are in the public interest. How the public interest is defined in those circumstances, and by whom is a curious question.
The fact that acts that lead to the degradation of society committed by police officers, and sets poor standards that addresses the use of racial slurs with kid gloves is revealing of some of the inherent failings in not just the legal psyche of those at the apex of various organizational structures.
The IOPC has set guidelines it must follows , and although a fresh look at how police officers are recruited would be useful, this is something that must be decided at policy level.
The IOPC also mentioned the potential problem in police officer’s identity in misconduct hearings not being disclosed , stating they will never be able to walk in the police force again. There are laws of data protection that prevents officers in a misconduct hearing from being named unless they are charged for an offence”.
Sexual Violence
Messages exchanged in two WhatsApp groups and one Facebook group included multiple references to sexual violence including, “I would happily rape you” and “if I was single I would happily chloroform you”.
In other discussions one officer bragged that he had hit his girlfriend, and told a colleague: “It makes them love you more”, while another boasted that he had repeatedly slept with a prostitute who he met through work.
One officer was referred to as “mcrapey raperson” in WhatsApp messages because of rumours that he had brought a woman to a police station to have sex with her.
Homophobic language was also used including one entry that said “f*** you bender”, and a number of racist messages including references to African children, Somali people and Auschwitz that are too offensive to print.
Offensive terms for disabled people, and messages about police officers attending a festival dressed as known sex offenders and a molested child.
The messages were uncovered as part of nine linked investigations into officers based in Westminster, mostly at Charing Cross police station.
IOPC regional director Sal Naseem said: “The behaviour we uncovered was disgraceful and fell well below the standards expected of the officers involved. While these officers predominantly worked in teams in Westminster, which have since been disbanded, we know from other recent cases that these issues are not isolated or historic.
“The learning report we are publishing today is shocking and contains language which is offensive – and some may find it upsetting. However, we felt it was important to provide the context for the public, the Met and other forces, for why such hard-hitting recommendations are necessary.”
The IOPC found that the offensive language was dismissed as banter to hide bullying, and that officers felt unable to raise concerns.
Messages were found including: “There’s a few of those grassing c I would like to knife”, “grassing is dirty” and “I’ve made it the no grassing no shit of anyone team… it’s my f** baby”.
Mr Naseem said: “Our investigation showed the officers’ use of ‘banter’ became a cover for bullying and harassment. Colleagues were afraid to speak out about these behaviours for fear of being ostracised, demeaned or told to get another job.
“We are grateful to those officers who were brave enough to speak to us about the cultural issues that existed within these teams, realising that in doing so they risked further bullying. This took courage. Hopefully our learning report and recommendations will give officers the confidence to come forward in the knowledge that people are listening and that changes will be made.
“The relationship between the police and the public is critical to maintaining the principle of policing by consent.
“The concerns about behaviour and culture addressed in our report, if allowed to continue and go unchallenged, risked causing serious damage to that relationship.”
Fourteen officers were investigated by the IOPC, and two were found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct – one of whom resigned and one was sacked.
Misconduct was proven against another two, one of whom received a written warning, while another four had internal measures to improve their performance.
Deputy assistant commissioner Bas Javid said: “I am angry and disappointed to see officers involved in sharing sexist, racist and discriminatory messages. It’s clear we have a lot of work to do to ensure bullying and discrimination does not exist in any part of the Met.
“The actions of these officers between 2016 and 2018 were unacceptable, unprofessional, disrespectful and deeply offensive. I read their messages with increasing disgust and shame.
“We haven’t waited for the IOPC’s report to take action – a number of officers have been subject to misconduct proceedings, including one officer dismissed and one who would have been dismissed had he not already resigned.
“Every Met employee has also been spoken to about responsible use of social media.
“We recognise that there is need for real change in the Met and we are committed to creating an environment that is even more intolerant to those who do not uphold the high values and standards expected of us.”
A review of culture and standards in the Met is currently being carried out by Baroness Casey, in the wake of the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I am utterly disgusted by the behaviour outlined in this IOPC report, which details the shocking evidence of discrimination, misogyny, harassment and bullying by police officers.
“The conduct of these officers was totally unacceptable and what has been revealed by these investigations will only further damage public trust and confidence in the police.
“It is right that the team concerned has been disbanded and the police officers found to be involved have been dismissed, disciplined or have left the police.
“Anyone found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, antisemitism, bullying or harassment does not deserve to wear the Met uniform and must be rooted out.
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