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London(UK): Recent data extracted by a UK national daily has revealed that the number of Met police officers who are facing allegations of sexual harassment has doubled in recent years.
The data suggests that more than 150 Met Police officers are being looked into for alleged sexual misconduct or racism.
While the charges are being looked into, the officers, who are still on the payroll, are barred from working in public-facing positions.
The data, which the Guardian released in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act suggests that by the end of November, 118 policemen were on restricted duty due to charges of sexual misbehaviour, and another 43 were the subject of an inquiry for racial discrimination.
The largest police department in Britain has recently been plagued by a number of controversies, including the murder of Sarah Everard by active police officer Wayne Couzens.
Only a few months later, two more officers were imprisoned for capturing pictures of the dead bodies of slain sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry and distributing them online.
Scotland Yard blamed the surge in limits and suspensions on “concerted efforts” to persuade other employees to spot and report misbehaviour as well as the mandate that staff members report misconduct.
The Reclaim These Streets (RTS) collective, which banded together to organise a vigil in response to Miss Everard’s death, was among the activists who were outraged by the disclosures.
It’s extraordinary that we’re asked to pay to retain misogynists and racists on the Met police payroll, a spokeswoman told the Guardian.
“It’s right that they’re suspended: women deserve to know that the person we ask for help in an emergency isn’t a predator themselves,” she said.
A Met spokesperson said, “We’ve seen restrictions and suspensions of officers almost double as a result of concerted efforts to encourage employees to recognise and report wrongdoing, mandatory training that makes it a duty to report misconduct, increasing the number of officers in the directorate of professional standards, and listening to the public’s views about their expectations of suspension.”
“Our work to find those who have betrayed the public and the police and deal with them as quickly as possible continues at a pace,” he added.
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