Officers staged unwarranted stops of women in an abuse of power known as ‘prey patrols’, with crimes such as sexual assault covered up and ignored alongside large-scale harassment of female officers and members of the public. The report published on Wednesday by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Police and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was ordered following the abduction, rape and murder of Sarah Everard in March 2021 by a serving Metropolitan Police officer, Wayne Cousins. It details senior officers hunting women for sex, watching pornography while on duty and misogynistic comments about crime victims and the public. The report lists a decade of warnings to police chiefs following previous serious sexual assaults and abuses of power by serving officers, with the inspection finding chiefs were “complacent” and failed to “understand the risk to the public”. Officers were given permission to join after “committing offenses such as robbery, indecent exposure, possession of controlled drugs, drink-driving and domestic abuse-related assaults,” the report said. It examined eight forces, including the Met and Civil Nuclear police, the two forces where Couzens was an armed officer, as well as Kent, where he served as a special constable. Chief Inspector Matt Parr said: “We concluded that a culture of misogyny, sexism, predatory behavior towards female police officers and staff and members of the public was prevalent in all the forces we inspected, which is a depressing finding. “We believe the mistreatment of women we’ve been told is widespread across many – if not all – forces.” The inspection said: “We also found 131 cases where the [employment] the decision was questionable at best. In these, we found officers and staff with a criminal record or suspected of having committed a crime (including some serious crime), significant unpaid debt or family members linked to organized crime. “In other cases, officers and staff had given false or incomplete information to the control unit. We also found officers who, despite a history of attracting complaints or allegations of misconduct, were successfully transferred between police forces. This is completely unsatisfactory.” This corresponds to approximately 18% of the 725 audit files examined. Every female police officer and staff member spoke of harassment and, in some cases, assault. Pressed on the scale of the officer problems, Parr said: “It seems reasonable to me to say that over the last three or four years, the number of recruits that we would be asking significant questions about is certainly in the hundreds if not the low thousands. “ The report cites examples found between 2018 and 2021 – when chiefs claimed control had improved. They include:

A special constable gave permission to take part despite a previous conviction for indecent exposure seven times in two weeks as a minor when he masturbated in his bedroom window, coughing to get a woman’s attention. He also had a warning for threats of criminal damage. A support officer gave permission to participate after slapping his partner in the face. A police officer allowed him to participate despite robbing an 80-year-old woman, who was knocked to the ground and had her purse stolen. A police officer gave permission for him to participate despite concerns that he had a conviction for theft and possible criminal links. A police officer has been arrested twice for assaults on women who were left with scars on their necks and witness intimidation, as well as a historic drink-driving conviction. One police officer gave permission to participate despite being arrested for rape as a minor some 20 years earlier. An officer, who still works with vulnerable people, has been given a final written warning for sending highly sexual and racist messages to a female colleague.

Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The check was found to have failed when officers switched forces and Parr said: “The lessons of recent years have given enough warning.” Asked if the police had heeded warnings, such as those from women’s groups and some from the inspectorate itself, that Couzens could have been identified earlier as a risk to women, Parr said: “The more wretched the system control, the greater the chance of someone like Couzens joining you.” The rapid recruitment drive to meet the government’s target of 20,000 new officers within three years has also raised concerns about vetting standards and a total of 43 recommendations have been made by the inspection. This report follows a recent month by Lady Casey into the Met’s disciplinary system which has found shocking failures, corruption and cover-ups far greater than previously admitted. This has led Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley to say that hundreds of racist, misogynistic and corrupt officers are left in the ranks of his force alone. The backlog of reports, with more to come next year, threatens the reputation of police chiefs, who claimed they were taking the issues seriously, but the inspectorate said they failed to respond to warnings that their staff and the public were at risk from misogynists, racists and corrupt officers. Police chiefs said they would fully adopt the recommendations and Andy Marsh, head of the College of Policing, said: “The verification will only provide a picture of the problem and must be supported by strong leadership at all levels and people it can identify and highlight non-policing behaviour. The college’s new entry training and National Center for Police Leadership will deliver world-class leaders equipped with the skills to uncover wrongdoing, improve outcomes and bring the service to the highest standards the public rightly expects.” Harriet Wistrich of the Center for Women’s Justice, which has lobbied for stronger action against police misogyny, said: “A police officer has powers and status which, if abused, can allow him to take advantage of vulnerable women – it is completely unacceptable to there is”. stricter interview and vetting procedures to ensure that potential abusers are not admitted to the police.”