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There is a toxic 'boy culture' at Britain's largest police force and the job is attractive to power-seeking thugs, a former Met officer has claimed. Alice Vinten, who worked in the police for 10 years, believes that the police service can only change if bosses admit that it attracts more "fakes" than other professions. This week a damning report will be published accusing the Metropolitan Police of racism, sexism and homophobia, and of not having changed despite repeated warnings to that effect.
Baroness Casey is due to publish her review of force culture and standards, commissioned following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer.
Ms Vinten said that while the focus has been on the Met, she believes the same problems exist throughout the police service.
"I hope that the toxic culture of sexism within the Met is exposed for the reality that it is, the fact that 'boy culture' still exists," she told the PA news agency. .
“That women often do not feel supported by their male partners, especially when they have to denounce a male partner, men often do not support them.
"The reality is that there is always a stigma attached to reporting 'one of your own' and that needs to be reversed: officers should be commended for reporting dangerous or corrupt officers, not ostracized for it.
“I don't think these problems are specific to the Met, I think these things happen across all UK forces.
"The main focus has been on the Met since the murder of Sarah Everard, but if we gave all UK police services the same level of scrutiny, we'd find exactly the same problems: sexist jokes, unacceptable WhatsApp chats, harassment of women. and men using their power to access vulnerable women.
The police officer-turned-author wants to see measures that include a unit of female detectives to investigate allegations of sexual offenses made by female officers and staff, and a system whereby two people screen female job applicants separately.
She said the force must also accept that the police attract power-hungry thugs.
“They have to admit that power attracts thugs and perpetrators, and that the police service as a whole attracts more 'fakes' than other professions,” Vinten said.
“They have to admit that they are a profession run by bad people, who want to abuse their power.
"Until they do that and dedicate zealous civilian officers/staff to rooting out bad cops, nothing will change."
Lawyer Harriet Wistrich, director of the Center for Women's Justice, said officers who turn a blind eye to wrongdoing must be punished, as well as the perpetrators themselves.
She told PA: 'It's clear from everything we've seen in recent years that the Met has allowed a culture of misogyny, racism and homophobia to fester within the organization without RESPONSE.
“Failure to address these issues and sweep them under the rug has led to the most horrifying results in cases like (Wayne) Couzens and (David) Carrick fundamentally undermining trust in the police.
"I think one of the key issues is a culture of loyalty that punishes those who speak up and rewards those who collude - this needs to be fundamentally reformed.
“Those who agree or disagree to speak out and challenge overt misogyny and racism must be held to account, just like the perpetrators.”
Amid reports from The Guardian that Baroness Casey's review will be "unbearable" for the Met, the force said it would not comment until it was published in full.
The Met has oscillated between a series of scandals in recent years, including the case of Wayne Couzens, the serving officer who will die in prison for the murder of Miss Everard, and David Carrick, who was exposed as one of the most serious criminals. UK prolific. sex workers
Andrea Simon, director of the Coalition to End Violence Against Women, said she hoped the review would look at how police powers and culture enable officers and staff to commit crimes related to violence against women, women and the girls.
"Given the Met's long history of misogyny and racism, from revelations about secret policing dating back to the 1980s to the findings of the Macpherson Report and numerous police inspection reports, we look forward to finally seeing this review of the institution. it needs to change, and urgently,” he said.
"The report's findings are likely to point to issues we've known about for a long time, so we look forward to hearing concretely how you can advance action that drives meaningful transformation."
Rape Crisis England and Wales chief executive Jayne Butler hopes the review will focus on "transparency, accountability and culture change".
She said: 'It is clear that a radical cultural transformation is needed to restore public trust in the police.
“We want a zero-tolerance approach for officers charged with sexual or domestic abuse crimes, and proper vetting processes to weed out those who hold sexist, racist, and misogynistic views.
“It is crucial that the Met can clearly define a definition of serious misconduct and that it is applied consistently.
"It is also crucial to detail how professional standards are strengthened and how they will be applied and developed if necessary."
PA wire
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