STORY
The Baroness Casey report into the Met Police has been published following its commission in October 2021 after the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer. The report was critical of the Met Police and concluded that the force was institutionally racist, sexist, and homophobic, and that significant structural reforms were needed to address these failings. She also questioned whether the Met Police was able to police itself and added that austerity had seriously impacted the force with 126 police stations closed in recent years.
The review followed a number of high-profile incidents involving the Met Police, including the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the shooting of Mark Duggan, which had raised concerns about institutional racism within the force. The report found that the police had failed to address these issues adequately and had not done enough to increase diversity within their ranks.
The Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said in a statement:
“This report sparks feelings of shame and anger but it also increases our resolve. I am proud of those people, our officers and staff, whose passion for policing and determination to reform moved them to share their experiences with such honesty. This is, in many ways, their report. It must be a catalyst for police reform. This report needs to lead to meaningful change. If it only leads to pillory and blame of the exceptional majority of officers then only criminals will benefit”.
The report gave incidences of inappropriate behaviour, including:
“There have been a number of incidents where baptised [Sikh] officers are picked on. One officer had his beard cut because an officer thought it was funny. Another officer had his turban put into a shoe box because they thought it was funny. Unless we educate our officers then this will happen.”
An example was given of a Muslim police officer who told the report:
“I found bacon left in my boots inside my locked locker. I was horrified but kept an open mind as to who this could be. I was hoping to identify who the culprit was and take appropriate action. I didn’t want to be branded a person who played the race card and out of fear of reprisals did not tell anyone at the time”.
The report also mentioned WhatsApp messages from police officers, noting:
“There are comments after intranet articles, along the lines of ‘why can’t we just get on with the day job, why do we have to care about bi-sexual people?’”
The Casey report concluded:
“Public confidence and trust in the Met have been falling, calling public consent into question, and the relationship with Black Londoners in particular remains unfixed. In these circumstances, good communication, consultation and engagement with the public – giving them a real say in how London is policed – becomes more important than ever”.
RESOURCES
Baroness Casey Report into the Met Police
Met Police Press Release on the Report’s Publication
EXTERNAL NEWS LINKS
Metropolitan Police
