Alice Vinten Profile picture
Nov 14 23 tweets 5 min read
#Racism in the Met Police. These are the words of a female officer who served in the Met for 26 years. I will be sharing her full statement on my website shortly, and also a second 🧵 on the misogyny she faced. Her words are shocking. #InstitutionalRacism #MetPolice (1)
‘I served in the Metropolitan Police Service for over two decades. I thoroughly enjoyed my job serving and protecting Londoners. It was the internal canteen culture that prompted me to make a heart-breaking decision to take early retirement.’ (2)
‘It was never my intention to retire before the age of 55. I had no choice but to cut my losses by losing a significant amount of lump sum from my pension.  It was not an easy decision to make, but it was for the best interest of my mental health and wellbeing,’ (3)
‘Race has always been a big problem within the MPS amongst minority ethnic staff & officers. I have experienced & witnessed direct & indirect racism. My promotion was blocked twice, once by a senior officer who got me 'stuck on' for calling him a 'racist.'’ (4)
‘I heard & witnessed how he openly used offensive language to describe black people, referring to them as 'Coloured' and 'N****rs' I witnessed how he ‘cherry picked’ two white officers to put them in acting roles against 2 minority ethnic applicants.’ (5)
‘The previous Borough I was at, a particular senior officer looked at minority ethnic officers like dirt. He did everything in his power to block our promotion. I speak on behalf of many minority ethnic officers who are too frightened to put their head above the parapet.’ (6)
‘During the 2012 Olympics, the Olympics team recruited officers from Newham. The Inspector wanted certain officers on the Olympics Team. These officers were given answers to the interview questions beforehand to ensure they were successful.’ (7)
‘A few years ago, I went to a leaving Do. A Sergeant who had a habit of becoming very vocal when he consumed too much alcohol began shouting, "There is no black in the Union Jack." There were several ranking officers stood in his group who did nothing but laughed.’ (8)
‘I could see several black and Asian officers looking on at his behaviour in shock.  I was also in utter shock and felt very uncomfortable. I never went to any social events after this. Unfortunately, this Sergeant remains an officer in the MPS.’ (9)
‘These officers are the future leaders, one Detective Superintendent, 2 Detective Chief Inspectors, 4 of them Detective Inspectors. So, to put things in perspective, majority of leaders in the MPS are racist to the T, so how does the Commissioner expect things to change?’ (10)
‘In 2014, I was in the yard and heard a team of officers referring to an Asian officer as a 'P*ki' They were discussing how the officer was sacked. I spoke to the Inspector who said, “Wind your neck in, my officers were harmless.  If you complain, it will be written off.” (11)
‘I was posted with a white officer, we were sat in a vehicle in the yard. Without prior conversation he said, "There are a lot of 'You' in the back yard today, it is like the Asian mafia."  The conversation continued in the car. He asked me if I ate curry every night. (12)
‘He would say, you only got to look at Chatfford Hundred. It is Chaffrican Hundred because the place is full of Africans.  Even during Parade, he would make racist jokes, but the Supervisors were very dismissive saying he was harmless, and it was just light banter.’ (13)
‘Another incident that I witnessed with over 25 officers. A white officer was eating a banana. When he finished, he got up from the 2nd row and approached a black officer on the other side of the room and said, “Here you are, throw it in the bin.”  Everyone started to laugh. (14)
‘The black officer later said to me, “Did you not realise it was blatantly racist.” He later pulled up the white officer who stated,“It is only a bit of banter.”  News travelled fast.  The whole team became aware that the white officer was challenged by the black officer,’ (15)
‘Everyone on the team stopped talking to him. Whenever he walked into a room, everyone would go quiet. The officer had to request a move to another team. This officer applied for a driving course; it was refused. He applied for a Polsa course; it was refused.’ (16)
‘He knew he could not progress on the current Borough.  He requested a move to another Borough, but his reputation followed him.  He has since resigned from the MPS due to the racism he had to endure, yet again brushed under the carpet by senior leaders.’ (17)
‘During the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, the atmosphere at work was so uncomfortable.  We were getting a lot of abuse from the public, but we had no support from our white counterparts. It felt like minority ethnic officers were taking the blame for the protests.’ (18)
‘There were heated debates about how Police lives matter too. We were told not to forget that many black people have killed and assaulted police officers. It was a difficult time for minority ethnic officers and staff.  You could cut the atmosphere with a knife.’ (19)
‘There are so many racial incidents I can talk about, but what is the point. The fact of the matter is the MPS is still Institutionally racist, sexist and will never change. Two decades on since the MacPherson report, nothing has changed.’ (20)
‘Unless you are a minority ethnic officer in the Police Service, you will have no idea how we are made to feel when it comes to selection, promotion, lateral progression, specialist roles, misconduct outcomes and tolerating subtle racial banter.’ (21)
‘The question many people will be asking. How about the minority ethnic officers who make it to the higher ranks? Those who manage to work up the ranks had to fight twice as hard than their white counterparts. They will not admit this because they want to keep their jobs. (22)
‘In my 26-year career in the MPS, I only ever made an official complaint about racist language once, which was in 2015. The complaint was never investigated. It was brushed under the carpet by senior leaders. I still have a copy of the complaint.’ END

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More from @AVintenAuthor

Oct 10
I’ve decided to share my experience of being spiked by three male police officers. It’s something I have held inside for a long time, it’s something I have doubted and questioned myself about, it’s something I have no evidence of. But I know it happened. I lived it .. 1of
One of the reasons I’ve held back all this time is the fear of not being believed. I get a lot of trolling from #policetwitter and I know they’ll accuse me of making this up ‘for attention’ But I don’t care anymore, people need to know the truth about what it is like to be… 2of
A female cop, to be betrayed by the people who should keep you safest. I was attending a course at Hendon. It was a week’s course and was with a group of officers from across the @metpoliceuk. At the end of the course a couple of them suggested drinks .. 3of
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Aug 29
I’m about to share the words of a female police officer. I am not naming her force to protect her anonymity. Her story needs urgent investigation and it is bravery like hers that will one day lead to the elimination of misogyny within UK police forces. TW: sexual harassment.
This will be a thread, in her words, sent to me in confidence. Please read her story and share, and help me call for a statutory enquiry into the misogynistic cultures that still exist within *all* UK police forces. Here is her story….
Context: describing her experience of working with a male colleague.

‘He was actually my sergeants husband and I had heard that he was a sex pest but never met him when we were put on patrols together for an op.’ 3of..
Read 13 tweets

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