Independent report blasts London’s metro police for negligence in wake of cop-committed crimes

London’s Metropolitan Police force is a “boys club” rife with racism, misogyny and homophobia, a new report found after a year-long investigation.

The independent investigation was launched in the wake of the 2021 abduction, rape and murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard by then-officer Wayne Couzens. It began with a quote from the victim impact statement Everard’s mother gave in court, which alluded to the “betrayals of trust” that sparked the review.

While the review was underway, yet another officer, David Carrick, was jailed for life after admitting to raping, assaulting and degrading dozens of women over decades, using his badge to lure them.

“It is not our job as the public to keep ourselves safe from the police,” said Baroness Louise Casey, the victims’ rights and social welfare expert who led the review. “It is the police’s job to keep us safe as the public. Far too many Londoners have now lost faith in policing to do that.”

While investigations were in some cases hobbled by budget cuts and austerity measures, the 34,000-officer department was poorly managed, Casey’s 363-page report said. She found that officers were not properly trained or vetted, and some remained on the job even after being accused of domestic abuse or racial harassment.

Rape kits were stored in overpacked refrigerators and freezers, one of which broke down during a heat wave, destroying the evidence inside and nullifying numerous cases.

Casey said the force’s racism, misogyny and homophobia were internal as well as external, with racist officers and staff and a lack of diversity in the ranks. According to the report, Met’s officers were 82% white and 71% male, and most of them lived outside the city. As a result, “the Met does not look like the majority of Londoners,” Casey wrote.

Racist, sexist and homophobic bullying were common occurrences. In one case, a Sikh officer’s beard was cut as a prank and another’s turban was stashed in a shoebox, BBC News reported. A Muslim officer found bacon in his boot but stayed mum.

“If sufficient progress is not being made at the points of further review, more radical structural options — such as dividing up the Met into national, specialist and London responsibilities — should be considered,” Casey concluded.

With News Wire Services

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