The Metropolitan Police has agreed to a “zero-tolerance” policy on racism and misogyny after an investigation into Whatsapp messages between officers unveiled bullying and harassment.
A report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct exposed violently racist, misogynist and homophobic behaviour exchanged in messages by officers based at Charing Cross police station.
The watchdog took the unusual step of publishing the messages in full – despite the fact that much of the content is too offensive to print in mainstream news coverage – as it detailed the “disgraceful” behaviour of Metropolitan Police officers based in a now-disbanded Westminster team between 2016 and 2018.
Messages exchanged in two WhatsApp groups and one Facebook group included multiple references to sexual violence including: “I would happily rape you” and “if I was single I would happily chloroform you”.
In other discussions, one officer bragged that he had hit his girlfriend, and told a colleague: “It makes them love you more”, while another boasted that he had repeatedly slept with a prostitute who he met through work.
One officer was referred to as “mcrapey raperson” in WhatsApp messages because of rumours that he had brought a woman to a police station to have sex with her.
The IOPC welcomed the Met’s acceptance of 15 recommendations designed to tackle underlying cultural issues after Operation Hotton - the investigation into Charing Cross officers - revealed bullying and discrimination within the ranks.
The IOPC added that the Met had also agreed to making a “public commitment to being an anti-racist organisation.”
The watchdog’s regional director Sal Naseem described the Met’s response as an important step towards recovering public trust and confidence.
“We welcome the Met’s full acceptance of our recommendations and the programme of work it has announced to create a better working environment and improve the service for the communities it serves in London,” Mr Saleem said.
“In particular, we are pleased that the MPS has agreed to embed a zero-tolerance position on racism, misogyny, bullying and harassment within its policies and training, and will adopt that terminology.
“We felt this was vital to make it clear to all officers and staff that this behaviour will not be tolerated in any form. For the Met we believe it is an important step on the road to rebuilding public trust and confidence in the force, which is critical to maintaining the principle of policing by consent.”
