BRITAIN

A damning new report has helped to shed light on the corruption, racism and predatory sexual conduct endemic among Britain’s top cops.

The report, commissioned by the College of Policing found that there was a widespread culture of police chiefs funding personal and private activities from taxpayer money, including gym membership, school fees, overseas travel, hospitality and executive cars.

A culture of entitlement in which police chiefs saw themselves as ‘the captains of industry’ rather than public servants has helped to create a ‘boys culture’ within the forces that allowed cases of serious misconduct to continue.

Bullying, and sexual harassment were also problematic within the force.
The report was drawn up as part of a College of Policing drive to improve leadership and integrity within the 43 constabularies in England and Wales.

Experts studied the cases of 33 police chiefs, all assistant chief constables or above, who were investigated for, or guilty of, offences including financial misconduct, dishonesty, bullying, racism and sexism since 2008.

Police officers were also forced to lie to watchdogs, cover up incidents and claim expenses they were not entitled to, according to the report.

The report claimed: “It was clear in a number of cases that there were factors specific to particular chief officers that appeared to be relevant to their behaviour. [They had] individual weaknesses that were regarded as risk factors. Some [interviewees] suggested that arrogance is a corollary of decisiveness, which is considered a desirable and necessary attribute in chief officers.

“Some chief officers tended to see themselves as being more akin to ‘captains of industry’ than public servants – with all the entitlements and privileges that came with the CEO role.

“Several interviewees described a ‘culture of entitlement’ at chief officer level. A culture of entitlement among some leaders had become ingrained to an extent that rendered it impervious to the changing ethical landscape associated with austerity.”

It also claimed that all of this helped to create an environment whereby powerful police chiefs were not able to be challenged by officers with a lower rank.

Last year, the Akashic Times revealed that thousands of officers were found guilty of misconduct – many for committing crimes as serious as sexual assault, drug trafficking, fraud, drink-driving, child pornography and domestic violence.

In figures released under a Freedom of Information Act, it was revealed that of the 4,1115 found guilty of misconduct, just 643 were sacked and forced to resign.

Among them was a sergeant sacked for having three sub-machine guns and ammunition and a police constable who was given a warning for having sex in a public park.

There was also a rise in the number of officers found to be guilty of misconduct. Sadly, this latest report shows that very little has changed.

It also helps to shed a light upon the general police culture that allows misconduct to thrive.

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