Amnesty calls for 'complete overhaul' of Met's ethics standards after damning review

Responding to the publication of Baroness Casey’s review into the conduct of the Metropolitan Police, Chiara Capraro, Amnesty International UK’s Women's Human Rights Manager, said:

“The report’s findings are quite frankly terrifying, if not surprising, given how Whatsapp group messages and victim testimony have shown the prevalence of a deeply misogynistic, racist and homophobic canteen culture within the Met.

“While this review was prompted by the appalling cases of Couzens and Carrick, this is by no means the first time that shocking examples of officer misconduct in the Met - and across the country - have spurred calls for reform.

“Despite many rounds of recommendations for improvement over the years, the Met’s current ethics standards, vetting and disciplinary procedures have failed abysmally and need a complete overhaul.

“No reform will be meaningful unless it’s subject to external and truly independent scrutiny. There must also be greater accountability to victims, witnesses and their families.

“It’s currently hard to see how women, LGBTQI+ and people of colour can ever trust the Met to work for them.

“The Met’s leadership needs a massive reality check: stop talking about bad apples, admit that the problem is institutional misogyny, deep-seated racism and homophobia - and put forward a clear plan for how it will deal with the astonishing levels of abusive policing now plain for everyone to see.”

Amnesty International is the world’s leading human rights organisation with more than 10 million supporters worldwide