The police service is rotten to the core

A report published today by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services for England and Wales should come as no shock to those of us that campaign to end male violence, such as rape and domestic abuse.  

The report was commissioned following the case of Sarah Everard who was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 2021 by serving Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens. The Everard case could have been written off as a rare and extreme example of police violence and misogyny, which is what the former Met Commissioner Cressida Dick tried to do when she said that there was an occasional ‘bad un’ in the job. 

But it has long been known that violent and predatory male police officers are not a rarity, far from it. Today’s report acknowledges that hundreds of officers cleared to join the force were unsuitable and should not have been appointed.  

According to the report, some officers were able to join the police after being committed of flashing, domestic abuse related assaults and possession of controlled drugs. In one of the worst examples a Special Constable who had a past conviction for masturbating in front of his bedroom window on several occasions was cleared to sign up. Another officer had a conviction for stealing from an 80-year-old woman he had knocked to the ground. One had been charged with rape 20 years prior to joining the force, and another was given a final written warning for sending ‘extremely sexually graphic’ and racist messages to a female colleague. In 2011 a Northumbria police officer was jailed for raping and abusing women he had arrested. He had been charged with a serious sexual assault before joining the force. 

They have been over a decade of warnings within the police service about convicted criminals being recruited without concern for potential victims. Although many police officers convicted of abuse will be opportunists, some will have joined the police with the primary aim of abusing rather than protecting the public, just as some child abusers become teachers.  

There is clearly a culture of misogyny inside the police. Every single female police officer interviewed for the purposes of the report spoke of harassment and in some cases, assault.  

How has this been allowed to happen? There are far more stringent criminal record checks on women who have been previously prostituted as minors, and have been made to disclose convictions for street soliciting. These women have been prevented from travelling to certain countries, taking up volunteer posts or jobs in rape crisis centres and domestic violence shelters, and even from entering their child’s school.  

When it comes to police officers, it’s not just a matter of inadequate vetting when they are recruited, but the failure to act when their behaviour or previous convictions are discovered. There is clearly a lack of concern for female officers. The report contained very disturbing details about male officers watching hardcore, violent pornography in front of their female colleagues during working hours.  

Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women's Justice, has conducted extensive research on the issue of police perpetrated abuse, and tells me that what is needed is a zero tolerance of misogyny as well as rigorous vetting of new recruits. 

‘Most men that commit acts of violence and abuse towards women are not convicted,’ says Wistrich, ‘so therefore we need a very strong independent complaints mechanism and whistleblowing protections so that where sexual misconduct is seen it will be taken seriously, and those that are reported will not be victimised.’ 

Is it possible to reform the police service as it is? We need to begin by recruiting individuals that are dedicated to preventing and tackling crimes against vulnerable people. A teacher convicted of child abuse images would be sacked on the spot. Any police officer who has convictions for crimes against the person; who has been found to have harassed or assaulted colleagues or watched porn at work, should be immediately dismissed from the force.  

This is not about further punishing people that have paid their dues for crimes committed when they were young and foolish, but predators joining the police in order to have access to vulnerable females. 

We have a crisis in the police service right now, and this report shows the force is rotten to the core. No amount of soft soaping about ‘bad apples’ is possible now this is all out in the open. I have been one of many feminists who, over the decades, have done my best to share my skills and knowledge about violence against women with police officers in the hope that this culture of misogyny would die out. Clearly we need more drastic action than the odd training course. It has to be root and branch reform, or there will be a public revolt like never before against the boys in blue.