‘Report corrupt cops’ is the call from the Met Police bosses

‘Report corrupt cops’ is the call from the Met Police bosses

Met Police - Credit Carrie Gomez/Shutterstock.com

The Met Police have called on the public to “report corrupt cops” as it seeks to deal with officers guilty of breaking the law.

The call comes on Tuesday, November 29 after the new Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said that the serious and high-profile crimes committed by some officers was hampering the force’s ability to do its job effectively.

However, as not everyone is comfortable with reporting crimes committed by and corruption within the force, a hotline has been set up to allow reporting anonymously. The free hotline will be run by charity Crimestoppers on 0800 085 0000.

Commander James Harman, Head of the Anti-corruption and Abuse Command, said: “What we want to do with this hotline is to say to the public, we want information about officers who are fundamentally corrupt or who are abusing their policing position.

“And we want to recognise that for members of the public who are trapped in a relationship of corrupt and abusive use of power, they might not know where to go.

“They might not feel comfortable walking into the local police station, they might not feel comfortable going through the established routes.

“What we are offering them is a hotline by Crimestoppers, an independent charity with a well-known, well-trusted brand, where someone can reach out for help, anonymously or not, to tell us about corruption or abuse in the Met.

“This will offer people a different way to seek help that they might not otherwise have felt able to do.”

The Met has said that anyone with information about officers or staff who take bribes, use their powers for sex, are abusive towards their partner or family, or are racist, homophobic or misogynistic, should get in touch.

A police watchdog review led by Baroness Casey found that the force’s anti-corruption systems were not fit for purpose. That review said staff were getting away with misconduct and breaking the law. She also found the conduct system itself to be racist and misogynist.

As a result, Sir Rowley’s predecessor was given her marching orders and he was brought in to “clean up the force.”

Mr Harman added: “We recognise that we’ve had far too many very serious cases where the public have felt let down and been let down by our officers and staff.

“I think the Met now, recognising how much that trust has been damaged, wants to get on the front foot in demonstrating we are proactively seeking to rebuild confidence, and part of that is about ensuring that we’re doing everything we can to drive up high standards in our organisation.

“So we’re very proud to be the first force taking what we think is a bold but necessary step, to ask the public for their help in identifying officers and staff that are letting us all down so very badly.”

With the Met keen to get on with the job of policing, its bosses have called on the public to “Report corrupt cops”


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Written by

Peter McLaren-Kennedy

Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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