By Gabriel Princewill-
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and the Met Commissioner, Mark Rowley are under pressure to sort out the never ending cycle of rotten police officers caught being racist and mysogynistic., but who escape punitive action.
A report by Boroness Louise Casey which found that hundreds of Met Police officers have been getting away with misconduct including racism and mysogyny , adds shame to both the force and those in power to address these issues.
Sadiq Khan, who is well placed to be addressing the embarrassing failings of the police force with the Met Commissioner is believed to be reluctant to engage on the troubling issues, because of a pending investigation about his role in the resignation of former met police commissioner, Cressica Dick.
Mr. Khan rightfully condemned the ostensible incompetence of Ms Dick in ensuring accountability and rooting out the pervasive level of grosse misdemeanours in the Met, which have hardly abated since then. A deplorable culture of racism and distasteful level of prurience has continued to undermine the the integrity of the force, thereby discrediting the noble efforts of the vast majority of officers who do not condone such unacceptable conduct. It is worth noting that the predominant level of misconduct in the fore that come to light are generally reported by upright officers truly committed to the objective of upholding the law.
Baroness Louise Casey report found many claims of sexual misconduct, misogyny, racism and homophobia had been poorly handled
In one case, a serving officer had 11 misconduct notices for allegations involving assault, sexual harassment and fraud.
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said the findings showed hundreds of his officers should have been sacked, but those officers astoundingly remain in the force. Notwithstanding that admission, what matters most is what practical steps he intends to take to reverse the appalling trend of misconduct in the force.
The interim report on misconduct procedures and the culture in the Met also found misogyny and racial disparity across the force’s internal disciplinary system, with a “systemic bias” against black and Asian officers. Bias that has in many cases been translated to explicit racism. Yet, time and time again, these offending clowns evade the full force of the law- rarely if ever, are they presented before a court of law for punitive action in accordance to statutory guidelines or the discretion of a sitting judge.
Author Baroness Casey said: “We have heard repeatedly from colleagues that they feel and believe, and actually have given us case examples of where people are getting away both with misconduct but also criminal behaviour.”
According to the report, some 1,809 officers – or 20% of all those facing allegations – had more than one complaint raised against them, with 500 of those facing between three to five separate misconduct cases since 2013.
Baroness Casey’s team said less than 1% of officers facing multiple allegations had been dismissed from the force, with one continuing to serve despite facing multiple serious allegations – including corruption, traffic offences and “failure to safeguard while off duty”.
Sir Mark admitted it had been hard not to shed a tear at how people had been treated when they had complained about the conduct of fellow officers and nothing had happened.
Baroness admitted only between 30 and 50 people are sacked a year and that was not enough.
He said: “There must be hundreds of people who shouldn’t be here who should have been thrown out.”
In a written reply to Baroness Casey, the commissioner said he was “appalled by the extent of the findings you expose”.
He added: “I am sorry to those we have let down: both the public and our honest and dedicated officers.”
The report was commissioned in the aftermath of the rape, kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met PC Wayne Couzens.
Baroness Casey described the current system as “not fit for purpose” and said “this has to be a line in the sand moment”.
She said there was such a great level of systemic bias and racism that it might be called an example of institutional racism, although that was not the same as saying the Met was institutionally racist.
Excess Time In Resolving cases
In a letter to Sir Mark, Baroness Casey laid out eight key issues, including the length of time taken to resolve misconduct cases, currently an average of about a year.
She wrote: “Cases are taking too long to resolve, allegations are more likely to be dismissed than acted upon, the burden on those raising concerns is too heavy, and there is racial disparity across the system, with white officers dealt with less harshly than black or Asian officers.”.
The shameful thing revealed by the latest report outlined examples of “how the misconduct process does not find and discipline officers with repeated, or patterns of, unacceptable behaviour”.
The report revealed that by the time a decision on the first misconduct matter had been made, which was to sanction rather than dismiss for harassment and assault, he had received six more notices against him.
The embarrassing state of affair makes mockery of the system as a whole, and questions the level of professional competence of those equipped to take action.
The Mayor of London, The Home office, and the Met Police Commissioner will be periodically checked by The eye Of media.Com on their action or omission in this very troubling matter.
They must start by ensuring a impeccable standard in the recruitment process, and quit hiring officers with criminal records.
Surely, all those in the firing line must hide their face in shame that individuals who call themselves professionals are guilty in large numbers of domestic violence, assault, racism and mysogyny. Eliminating such misfits from their midst is of paramount importance.
It is in the public interest to have a credible police system with integrity that has a zero tolerance for misconduct.