LONDON (HPD) — London Metropolitan Police officers break the law without consequence and the system for investigating police misconduct is marked by racism and misogyny, a report said Monday.
Police officers “get away with misconduct, but also with criminal behaviour” without being fired, said the report’s author, Louise Casey, in a new harsh criticism of Britain’s top police force.
“Cases take too long to resolve, allegations are more likely to be ignored than addressed, the burden on those raising concerns is too heavy, and there is racial disparity throughout the system, with white officers receiving less treatment. harder than black or Asian officers,” Casey said in a letter to Police Chief Mark Rowley.
Casey, a seasoned former government official, was commissioned to investigate the London police following a series of controversies over alleged misogyny and racism among officers. On Monday she submitted a preliminary report, ahead of a full report due next year.
A police officer, Wayne Couzens, was convicted last year of the kidnapping, rape and murder of a woman who was walking home at night in London. The murder of Sarah Everard at the hands of an active-duty officer shocked the country, and the subsequent police handling of vigils and protests over Everard’s death, in which women were detained for flouting coronavirus restrictions, was highly criticized.
Another investigation this year condemned the culture of misogyny, abuse and sexual harassment at a London police station, Charing Cross.
The body has also been criticized for how it handled the case of two black sisters murdered in a London park in 2020 – the bodies were found by a search party organized by the family because the police were not looking for them – and for failing to arrest the Serial killer Stephen Port, who drugged and killed four men he met online.
Cressida Dick resigned as police chief in February after London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was not doing enough to urgently overhaul the force and regain public trust. The Metropolitan Police came under “special measures” from the British police oversight agency in June.
Rowley, who succeeded Dick, said the force was laying off 30 to 50 officers and employees a year, but that number should be much higher.
“You have to come to the conclusion that there are going to be hundreds of people who shouldn’t be here, who should be kicked out,” he said. “There will be hundreds behaving in a disgraceful way, undermining our integrity and they should be kicked out.”
The British government said it would review the system and procedures for firing police officers.
The flaws discovered by Casey are “completely unacceptable,” Rowley said.
“I am sorry for those we have let down: both the public and our honest and dedicated officers,” he said in a letter to Casey. “The public deserves a better Met, as do our good people who fight every day to make a positive difference to Londoners.”