Police Misconduct: London, UK Edition

Are we surprised that a police force would be inept at policing itself? Met Police: Misogyny, racism, bullying, sex harassment discovered - BBC News

For those of us on the west side of The Pond, The Met, or the Metropolitan Police, is often referred to as Scotland Yard, though strictly speaking, that is only the name of the headquarters. It is the police force responsible for everything law-enforcement in Greater London. It also handles some specialized duties for all of the United Kingdom.

"Disgraceful" misogyny, discrimination, bullying and sexual harassment have been discovered within the ranks of the Met Police by the police watchdog.

Officers were found to have joked about rape and exchanged offensive social media messages, leading to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to make 15 recommendations. [Bold in the original.]

The linked article above is from the BBC, so they are clueless about the cause of this prevalent attitude of misogyny. Thankfully, they are not the only news source in the United Kingdom.

Rebel News had this observation: Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to step down after mayor declares no confidence in leadership.

Dame Cressida Dick was celebrated as the first woman to lead Scotland Yard.

Things didn't work out for Cressida Dick in the long run.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has said that he was “not satisfied” with Cressida Dicks' response to the report, and that she “will be stepping aside” as a result of numerous controversies among the force.

Khan has said he would now “work closely with the home secretary on the appointment of a new commissioner” with an aim to restore trust in the Met.

It is sad to say, but I think Scotland Yard has less "trust" than Chicago PD had in the 1980s. And if you're confused on that topic, do a web search on "Jon Burge."

The Guardian has a nice chronology of the major events of Cressida Dick's career with The Met, and while it doesn't highlight all of the problems of policing in London, it is not short. Let's look at one of the more recent bits of insanity.

March 2021 – Dick’s handling of the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens caused anger and frustration in City Hall and government.

After her killer was sentenced to a whole-life term in September 2021, the Met leadership was expected to show it understood the concerns. Instead it was mocked after saying that women who were worried about an officer approaching them could wave down a bus. The Met announced its own inquiry, as have the government.

They were forced to retract that statement about hailing a bus, after much ridicule.

The kidnapping, rape and murder of Sarah Everard is a perfect example of a police force not being able to police itself. From The Daily Mail:

Dame Cressida has also faced questions about why Miss Everard's evil attacker Couzens was not arrested before he kidnapped, raped and murdered the 33-year-old marketing manager for flashing offences previously reported to the police.

Bad guys, even bad police, rarely start with murder. But he was a cop; no one was going to arrest him. That whole "Brothers in Blue" bullshit.

The list of offenses is long, and goes back years. Decades probably. Too much to put in one post on this site. And it will take more than replacing the person in charge to change the culture. The problem is, I don't think anyone inside Scotland Yard believes that the culture needs changing.