UK’s largest police force needs ‘complete overhaul’: report

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain's largest police force is guilty of "deep-seated homophobia" and predatory behavior, with officers from minorities suffering widespread bullying, a scathing independent report said Tuesday. The report, written by government official Louise Casey, was commissioned in the wake of the murder of London woman Sarah Everard by serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens. Casey found a culture of homophobia within the London force, while female officers and staff "routinely face sexism and misogyny." The Met had "not protected its female employees or members of the public from police perpetrators of domestic abuse, nor those who abuse their position for sexual purposes," she said. "Time and time again, those complaining are not believed or supported. They are treated badly, or face counter-claims from those they have accused," said the report. It said an "absence of vigilance" meant that "predatory and unacceptable behavior has been allowed to flourish."