The rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer last year has sparked a major investigation by English and Welsh police. The verdict is devastating: Thousands of civil servants would behave towards women like cats of prey and should have already been relieved of their duties.
An official inquiry has delivered a damning verdict on a deep-rooted sexist culture in the police force in England and Wales. Failed checks and omissions have resulted in potentially thousands of officers on duty who behaved like predators towards women, according to a study by the UK regulator HMICFRS. “It’s too easy for the wrong people to join the police force and stay there,” said HMICFRS Inspector Matt Parr.
A culture of misogyny, sexism and predatory behavior towards female police officers and members of the public is rife within the police force, it said. Officials would abuse their power to unfairly stop women in “booty controls,” as they call it internally. Police crimes such as sexual assault are covered up and ignored. The sentence against two men – one acting police officer, one former – who exchanged sexist and racist messages in chat groups is also to be passed.
The study was commissioned after the murder of Londoner Sarah Everard. A police officer kidnapped, raped and murdered the 33-year-old in March 2021 using his service ID. The case had lastingly shaken confidence in the police. Had measures been taken earlier to improve pre-employment controls, it would have been significantly more difficult for people like the Everard killer to get a job as a police officer, it said. Interior Secretary Suella Braverman said the report sheds a strong light on the problems. It is unacceptable that women continue to experience misogynist and sexist behavior.