Authors:Legal Action Group
Created:2022-11-30
Last updated:2023-09-18
Report on misogyny and corruption in England and Wales police highlights poor standards nationwide
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Marc Bloomfield
Following the murder of Sarah Everard by Wayne Couzens, a serving police officer, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was commissioned by the then home secretary to assess vetting and counter-corruption capability and capacity in the England and Wales police. Having reviewed hundreds of vetting files for its report, An inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service (2 November 2022), HMICFRS concluded that a culture of misogyny, sexism and predatory behaviour exists towards female officers, staff and members of the public, which is prevalent in many forces. Notably:
•of 725 vetting files that were examined, there were 131 cases where ‘the decision was questionable at best’ (page 1);
•there were 11,277 responses to an online survey of officers, staff and volunteers, which included allegations of sexual harassment and assault often by perpetrators who had previously been reported for similar behaviour; and
•in an examination of 264 complaint and misconduct investigations, ‘[i]n almost one in five cases, we were unimpressed by the force’s decision-making’ (page 2).
The report comes just two weeks after Baroness Casey’s interim report of her review into standards of behaviour and internal culture in the Metropolitan Police, in which she expressed serious concerns about the force’s handling of misconduct claims, including those of sexual misconduct.
HMICFRS gave five areas for improvement and made 43 recommendations covering, among other things:
•pre-employment checks and vetting;
•corruption investigations;
•complaints and misconduct procedures; and
•sexual harassment policies.
Matt Parr CB, HM inspector of constabulary, said in his foreword:
At the moment, it is too easy for the wrong people both to join and to stay in the police. Too many recent events prove this. If public confidence in the police is to be improved, chief constables, among others, need to be less complacent. Standards need to be consistent, and higher (page 3).