Police chief constables KNOW their forces have a toxic culture and must root out racist, homophobic and violent cops, watchdog warns
- Sir Tom Winsor, chief inspector of constabulary, revealed toxic police culture
- He said that chief constables had admitted to similar problems as the Met
- Sir Tom has called for officers with a ‘fondness of violence’ to be rooted out
Police chief constables across the country have admitted that their forces have a toxic culture and problems with racism, homophobia and violence, the head of a watchdog has warned.
Sir Tom Winsor, HM chief inspector of constabulary, praised the majority of officers but said that some who have a ‘fondness of violence’ and of abusing their power need to be rooted out.
His words come after the Metropolitan Police faced a barrage of criticism recently.
The force’s reputation has been hit by a series of disturbing cases including the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, two constables who shared pictures of the bodies of murder victims Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry on WhatsApp, the highly offensive Charing Cross messages and most recently an inspectorate report that revealed 2,000 warrant cards have gone missing.
However, Sir Tom revealed that a northern police force’s chief constable recently told him they have ‘the same problem’.
Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor says more needs to be done to tackle toxic culture in police forces
These are MailOnline mock-ups of WhatsApp conversations that were published in the IOPC report showing shocking texts between Charing Cross officers. Warning: Graphic language
The force’s reputation has been hit by a series of disturbing cases including the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer
Sir Tom told Times Radio: ‘There are parts in policing, where the culture is toxic and we saw the appalling WhatsApp messages in Charing Cross police station.
‘A northern force’s chief constable recently said to me, ‘Yes, we have the same sort of problem,’ and I expect that if there were an investigation, that we would find more of that kind of thing.’
The Charing Cross scandal saw the exposure of violently racist, misogynist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers based at the central London police station.
Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick quit the Met Police over the incident, following public outcry and growing pressure.
Discussing the Met and other forces, Sir Tom praised the bravery of police officer but said: ‘The people who have these attitudes of racism, homophobia, misogyny, a fondness of violence, a fondness of exercise of power over their fellow citizens and so on – those people need to be rooted out and thrown out.’
He also called for fellow officers to report bad behaviour from their colleagues.
Sir Tom is set to step down as Chief Inspector of Constabulary this week and carry out a formal inquiry into how Dame Cressida came to be forced out of her job by London mayor Sadiq Khan.
The review will look at ‘whether due process was followed’ by the Labour politician.
The timing and nature of the inquiry are likely to mean Sir Tom will have more flexibility to make politically-sensitive criticisms of the London Mayor.
Dame Cressida announced her resignation in February after Mr Khan’s aides indicated that he had no confidence in her ability to shake-up her force after a series of scandals, including murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens.
The embattled Police Commissioner will step down for good in April and be succeeded by Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House, who is expected to take over the Partygate probe into events in Westminster during lockdown.
She has faced a string of controversies during her reign as Metropolitan Police Commissioner.
Further mock-ups of messages sent by a male officer during another shocking conversation on WhatsApp
The embattled Police Commissioner (left) will step down for good in April and be succeeded by Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House (right)
In April 2019, Extinction Rebellion protesters brought London to a standstill over several days with the Met powerless to prevent the chaos.
Dame Cressida said the numbers involved were far greater than expected and used new tactics but she admitted police should have responded quicker.
In September that year, her role in the setting up of a shambolic probe into alleged VIP child sex abuse and murder was revealed but she declined to answer questions.
In February 2021, Lady Brittan condemned the culture of ‘cover up and flick away’ in the Met and the lack of a moral compass among senior officers.
The same month, a freedom of information request revealed an extraordinary spin campaign to ensure Dame Cressida was not ‘pulled into’ the scandal over the Carl Beech debacle.
In March last year the Met faced severe criticism for its handling of a vigil for Sarah Everard, where officers arrested four attendees. Miss Everard was killed by Wayne Couzens, a serving Met officer.
Last June, a £20million report into the Daniel Morgan murder branded the Met ‘institutionally corrupt’ and accuses her of trying to block the inquiry. Dame Cressida rejected its findings.
A month later, the police watchdog revealed three Met officers were being probed over alleged racism and dishonesty.
In January, she faced a barrage of fresh criticism for seeking to ‘muzzle’ Sue Gray’s Partygate report by asking her to make only ‘minimal’ references to parties the Met were investigating.
And in February, details of messages exchanged by officers at Charing Cross Police Station were revealed, which included multiple references to rape, violence against women, racist and homophobic abuse.
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