The London Metropolitan Police Force has been plagued by years of misogyny and systemic racism and a refusal to discipline or fire officers accused of the misconduct, according to an internal review released Monday.
The report, conducted by Baronness Louise Casey, found that the length of time it took the office to investigate its own staff was insufficient and that black and Asian officers were more likely to be disciplined.
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“Raising issues relating to racism or other discrimination and wrongdoing often led to being labeled a troublemaker, which then led to unfair disciplinary action,” the report stated. “We also heard that the misconduct system is not sufficiently robust with white officers who breach professional standards, but there is a lower threshold for black, Asian, and mixed ethnicity officers and staff.”
Commissioner Mark Rowley, who was appointed last month, said the Met had messed up when it came to firing staff members. More than 1,800 officers had more than one complaint raised against them, with 500 of those facing three to five separate misconduct cases since 2013, according to the report. The highest number of allegations for a single person was 19.
Fewer than 1% of officers facing multiple allegations were dismissed from the force, with one continuing to serve despite facing multiple serious allegations, according to the report.
Rowley has begun instituting reform measures to address the report, including replacing the leadership with people who have experience with organized crime and corruption.
“I’ve already put in place a new anti-corruption and abuse command to use the same tactics we’ve used against organized crime and corrupt officers in that space to go after the racists and misogynists who are undermining us,” Rowley told BBC Radio.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who requested the Met to carry out the review, said that the findings “not only confirm my concerns but reveal a situation even worse than feared.”
All suggested measures from Casey’s office must be implemented and offering support to the victims needs to be crucial, Khan said.
“As Mayor, I’ve ensured the Met is now set on a path of far-reaching systematic and cultural reform, with the appointment of a new Commissioner who acknowledges the scale of the problems within the Met,” Khan said. “I want to assure Londoners that I will continue to hold the Met to account as I support Sir Mark in taking urgent action to reform the culture and systems of the Met and to root out all police officers found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, homophobia, bullying, or harassment.”
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The review was ordered last year under former commissioner Cressida Dick, who resigned in February after the mayor said he had lost confidence in her leadership. The review comes after the abduction, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard by a Metropolitan police officer last year. The department also came under scrutiny in 2020 after a report revealed that police officers had been sharing images of the bodies of sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman after they were murdered in a London park.
The report needs to be a “line in the sand moment,” and the current system in place is no longer “fit for purpose,” Casey said.
