Over 300 individuals have stepped forward, accusing law enforcement of exhibiting racism, corruption, and intimidation of victims.
As reported to the BBC, numerous incidents involved misogynistic behavior, particularly during the reporting of domestic abuse and sexual violence cases. One individual described their experience of reporting a rape as feeling akin to being assaulted once more.
These allegations were brought to light following a BBC Panorama investigation conducted this month, which uncovered pervasive sexism and misogyny among officers through covert filming at one of London’s most active police stations.
Many women who reached out shared accounts of poor treatment by police forces across the nation. One woman recounted an incident where an officer allegedly told her to “toughen up” after she reported being hit by her intoxicated partner.
She expressed to the BBC that the police response left her feeling “devastated” and accused her of overreacting, despite visible bruises on her face.
Reflecting on the incident, she recounted, “They told me to grow a pair… followed by laughter. I was in disbelief at what I was hearing.”
Another woman, who was pregnant when she fled her abusive partner who repeatedly raped and hit her, said she was not believed by the police she turned to for help.
She described the experience as ‘like being raped all over again’ and said that ‘what they put me through was worse than what I was going through before’.
In an undercover Panorama programme, officers were caught on camera sharing racist views about Muslims, making sexual comments about women being detained and dismissing rape victims
A screengrab from the BBC’s undercover report into Charing Cross Police Station. Pictured: Sgt Joe McIlvenny who described sexual encounters to colleagues
Officers have also been accused of being heavy handed and revelling in the use of force
She said evidence supporting her case was ‘willfully ignored’ and was told that without CCTV evidence of an attack ‘it is just your word against his’.
She added that she believes her race influenced how she was treated by police.
‘The colour of my skin meant everything was stacked against me. The language they used and how dismissive and mocking they were, was both misogynist and racist,’ she said.
‘They asked why I thought he was doing it to me – as if I was the problem, as if I’d brought it all on myself.’
A shocking Panorama investigation aired earlier this month showed officers on camera sharing racist views about Muslims, making sexual comments about women being detained and dismissing rape victims.
BBC Panorama’s undercover reporter, Rory Bibb, spent seven months up to January this year as a designated detention officer in the custody suite of Charing Cross police station in central London where he discovered that far from being driven out of the Met, racist and misogynistic attitudes have been driven underground.
During the filming, one off-duty officer said about immigrants: ‘Either put a bullet through his head or deport him.
‘And the ones that s**g, rape women, you’d do the c*** (with a weapon) and let them bleed out.’
He described an ‘invasion’ of migrants, adding: ‘The Somalians are scum. Any foreign person is the worst to deal with.’
Another officer detaining a woman wearing police fancy dress said: ‘Ah awesome. I’ve paid money to go to clubs and see women dressed like this.’
On another occasion, an off-duty officer remarked: ‘Islam is a problem. A serious problem I think. Muslims hate us. They f****** hate us. Proper hate us.’
During the programme one officer described how, if suspects refuse to have their fingerprints taken, he could pull two of their fingers hard to snap the tendons.
‘I love taking fingerprints by force,’ he said.
The head of Scotland Yard issued a public apology at the time, Sir Mark Rowley vowing that nine serving officers, one ex-officer and a designated detention officer would be kicked out of the force within weeks if found guilty of gross misconduct on ‘incontrovertible evidence’ of racism, misogyny, anti-Muslim sentiment and bragging about excessive use of force.
In response to this latest police scandal, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said it was ‘working hard to build a culture based on integrity and trust’ and improving vetting and misconduct procedures.
Policing Minister Sarah Jones told the BBC that the government would not tolerate these ‘sickening comments’ and urged people to report them.
She said police chiefs had been given new powers to dismiss officers who commit gross misconduct. ‘We will root out those unfit to serve the public,’ she said.
