A much-awaited review into the Metropolitan Police’s culture and standards is pitching for easing of procedures to sack misogynist and racist officers of the force, media reports said.
According to the probe by Baroness Louise Casey, too many “abhorrent” individuals continued to remain on the frontline of Scotland Yard because of systemic failings in the UK’s largest police force.
In the review set to be unveiled on Monday, after more than six months of investigation into the force’s vetting, recruitment and training procedures, Casey will argue that trust in the Met has been severely damaged.
The review was commissioned following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard by the serving Met officer Wayne Couzens last year.
As more than half of the Met officers found guilty of sexual misconduct over four years till 2020 continued to remain in the force, a source familiar with the review told the Guardian: “The line on what should qualify for dismissal needs to be redrawn.”
“Much of what has got them in hot water has been the fact that they can’t sort out their misconduct system,” another source told the news outlet.
“Although it’s about individual officers’ behaviour, it’s also an area where there are systemic problems,” the source said.
Before he strangled Everard to death, Couzens had allegedly exposed himself four times in a takeaway. He was also part of a WhatsApp group that shared offensive misogynist and racist messages.
Casey will argue in her report that perpetrators often start with lower-level offences before their behaviour escalates.
Several officers of the Met are under the scanner over their alleged sexual and domestic abuse.
The Met has created a new anti-corruption unit to “root out” criminal colleagues within the force as the new commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has vowed to deploy covert tactics to “identify and respond swiftly to any emerging threats”.
