London police unit sent each other racist, sexist jokes, made light of Holocaust
One officer joked about Auschwitz death camp, watchdog finds; Metropolitan Police apologizes, home secretary calls behavior ‘sickening’
LONDON — London Metropolitan police officers sent each other “shocking” racist, sexist and homophobic messages, a UK watchdog said Monday, including jokes making light of the Holocaust and the Auschwitz death camp.
The messages were exchanged on WhatsApp and Facebook by a now-disbanded Westminster police unit between 2016 and 2018, according to a report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
In one comment, an officer said: “Opened my balcony door and loads of flies flew into the front room. So I got the fly spray and turned my gaff into Auschwitz.”
At least 1.1 million people, mainly European Jews, were murdered in Auschwitz during the Holocaust.
Other messages included the use of homophobic and racist language. There were also references to so-called Muslim “fanatics” and the use of offensive terms for people with disabilities.
They also made multiple references to sexual violence, including “I would happily rape you,” while in another discussion an officer said he hit his girlfriend as “it makes them love you more.”
One police officer repeatedly boasted about having sex with a prostitute he met through work, while another was referred to as “mcrapey raperson” after he was rumored to have brought a woman to a police station for sex.
Most of the officers investigated were from the Charing Cross Police Station, the IOPC said.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said that being a police officer was a privilege that had been abused by the “sickening” officers.
“It has been clear for some time that there are problems with the culture of the Metropolitan Police,” Patel said in a statement. “The public rightly expects the behavior of the police to be beyond reproach – standards must be raised.”
Metropolitan Police apologized in a statement saying “We are deeply sorry to all Londoners for the reprehensible conduct of a team of officers at Charing Cross Police Station.”
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he is “utterly disgusted” by the police behavior detailed in the report.
“It is right that the team concerned has been disbanded and the police officers found to be involved have been dismissed, disciplined or have left the police,” he said.
“Anyone found to be responsible for sexism, racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, antisemitism, bullying or harassment does not deserve to wear the Met uniform and must be rooted out,” Khan said, referring to the Metropolitan Police working in the London area.
‘Angry and disappointed’
Some police officers felt unable to raise concerns about the language being used because the messages also contained so-called “banter” that was a cover for bullying and harassment, the report said.
“We know from other recent cases that these issues are not isolated or historic,” said IOPC regional director Sal Naseem.
The IOPC investigated 14 Metropolitan police officers, two of whom had a case to answer for gross misconduct. One of those was sacked and one resigned.
Misconduct was proven against another two, one of whom received a written warning, while another four had internal measures to improve their performance, the report said.
Metropolitan Police deputy assistant commissioner Bas Javid said he was “angry and disappointed to see officers involved in sharing sexist, racist and discriminatory messages.”
“It’s clear we have a lot of work to do to ensure bullying and discrimination does not exist in any part of the Met,” he said.
Last year’s kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving London police officer rocked the country and prompted calls to address sexism and misogyny in the police.
The government is conducting a review of culture and standards in the London police force in the wake of Everard’s murder.
The Times of Israel Community.