The snapshot provided by a report into vetting failures is a dark one
Hard on the heels of Louise Casey’s interim report on failures at the Met leading up to Sarah Everard’s murder comes another damning verdict on British policing. A review of eight forces from the watchdog for England and Wales concluded that a culture of sexism and predatory behaviour is a problem in each one. Many female officers spoke of harassment, while inspectors highlighted 131 vetting files (18% of the total) where decisions concerned them. Examples included candidates being cleared to work as police officers despite having committed crimes against women, or having connections to organised crime.
Also this week, a former Police Scotland officer waived her anonymity and publicly accused it of covering up misogyny. Gemma MacRae said that she had been touched inappropriately several times by Scott Gallop, a former colleague who is now on trial. On one occasion, she was driven by officers to an isolated forest at night and left there. These revelations come six months after Police Scotland paid nearly £1m in damages to another woman, and two years after Dame Elish Angiolini, a former lord advocate, called for a fundamental review of equalities in Police Scotland. While there are variations between forces, evidence points to a nationwide problem of systems and culture.
