By Gabriel Princewill-
Three police officers have been suspended over allegations of sharing misogynistic, racist and homophobic messages, after the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) began an investigation.
The revelation is one of multiple others in the past few years, highlighting racism and misogyny in the police force in the Uk.
The police force in the Uk, and all over the world, is expected to uphold the tenets of integrity and honourability in enforcing the law equitably, but far too often a relatively small group of rotten apples in the force betray the hallowed principles of fairness and the rule of law.
Racism and homophobia has for decades been endemic in the British police force. The Home Office and parliament have woefully failed to effectively address racism, homophobia, and mygonyny in the police force for decades.
The inquiry that culminated in the latest revelation was launched following a Sunday Times investigation into a phone owned by an ex-sergeant, Ricky Jones. The messages publicised are of a “racist, misogynistic and homophobic nature and some alluded to potential corruption”, the IOPC- the Uk police watch dog said.
The watchdog(IOPC) said the serving officers were under investigation for misconduct, following claims of sharing offensive messages.
The handset in question was found to contain offensive message exchanges between him and former colleagues.
Racist images, pornographic videos and sensitive information about misconduct and corruption investigations were among the material exchanged, the Sunday Times said.
Gwent Police’s Chief Constable Pam Kelly described the messages as ‘abhorrent’, adding: “Any officers identified by the investigation as having breached either professional standards or the criminal threshold will be held accountable. The content shared with us paints a picture of a toxic culture which does not represent the majority of our service.”
The IOPC said it had requested further information from Gwent Police in relation to the alleged involvement of former officers in the sharing of messages who could be included in the operation.
A separate investigation into complaints from the Jones’ family related to Gwent Police’s handling of its investigation into his death and officers’ contact with his relatives is to continue to be managed by Wiltshire Police.
The family have called for the creation of a new organisation to help those facing domestic abuse at the hands of serving officers.
Jones’ widow and daughter said they suffered years of coercive control by him but felt unable to report it to police because of his links to the force.
His widow Sharon and daughter Emma, whose names have been changed, said more needs to be done to help those who feel unable to report domestic abuse.
“I was trapped,” said Sharon.
“Wherever and whenever I went to any organisation, they would just always refer me back to the police.”
Catrin Evans, IOPC director for Wales, said: “I recognise that many people will find the messages aired in the public domain, apparently shared among police officers, highly disturbing.
“After publication of the national newspaper article, we formally wrote to the Chief Constable of Gwent Police requesting they provide us with information to establish the chain of events and decisions taken in relation to the family’s complaints, and any conduct matters. We had not previously received a referral from the force on any of these matters.
“On the basis of our assessment of the conduct referrals received so far, we have decided that an independent investigation is essential to maintain public confidence.
“We will be investigating the alleged involvement of a number of serving Gwent Police officers in sharing offensive messages.
“We will keep the involvement of any further serving and former officers under review as more information comes to light.
“We will need to progress a full download of data from the phone of Mr Ricky Jones. I would ask for patience while we undertake our enquiries as swiftly and thoroughly as possible.”
The IOPC. the Met, and the CPS, have all in the past been asked by The Eye Of Media.Com to take stringent action to root racism from the police force by presenting offending officers before a court, but both have continued to make flimsy excuses not to do so.
The IOPC and the CPS have both placed the responsibility on the police force to refer cases of racism to the Crown prosecution in order for racism to be addressed, but none of the aforementioned bodies appear to have what it takes to take the necessary steps to root out racism from the force.