Met apologise for 'sexist, derogatory' language when searching woman

[ArabellaScott]

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/24/met-apologises-to-academic-for-sexist-derogatory-language

'The Metropolitan police have apologised and paid compensation to an academic for “sexist, derogatory and unacceptable language” used by officers about her when she was strip-searched.'

'Duff was arrested on 5 May 2013 on suspicion of obstructing and assaulting police after trying to hand a legal advice card to a 15-year-old caught in a stop-and-search sweep in Hackney – allegations she was later cleared of in court. '

Is anyone going to do something about the police, at all?

“The Met held a misconduct hearing in August 2018, and halfway through Sgt Howard was cleared of gross misconduct without giving evidence.
Panel chairman Maurice Cohen said there were "reasonable grounds justifying Sgt Howard's actions in authorising a strip search". (From the BBC Nottingham article about this posted
earlier)

Why are they allowed to judge themselves?

@MrBlobbyLivesNextDoor thanks. Do you know that’s the first time I’ve called myself the victim…after 12 years! The woman in the article was so right when she said that things get twisted, denied and made up that you start to doubt yourself, because you don’t believe the police would do those things. I still have lots of shame about it (wasn’t sexual assault) and wouldn’t tell people about it in real life, because I feel I would be judged (even though I did nothing wrong).

@Whatthechicken
I had missed your post before. I am so sorry for what happened to you. That feeling of unfairness and powerlessness is unbearable and unending.

Do you know that’s the first time I’ve called myself the victim…after 12 years!

Sometimes it takes that long to process it ♥️

I was so angry after I read this. And the fact that the female officers were as vile as the male ones was so disappointing.

The Met's reputation truly is in the gutter at this stage and needs some serious looking into starting with getting rid of the people at the top...Dick should have resigned a long time ago.

In reality, does anyone think we'll see any action?
I honestly feel like taking to the streets about this, it's not just the Met.

I was just listening to a report about this on the news and came to see if there was a thread about it. To instruct the women officers doing the search to 'treat her like a terrorist' was clearly completely inappropriate. That was compounded by the way she was actually treated. Agree with PlanetNormal that the way the women officers behaved is dreadful. We knew about the sexism and misogyny in the Met already. It is totally endemic if women officers are behaving this way too.

Whatthechicken

I am sorry you had such an awful experience too. I hope Dame Louise Casey's enquiry will ask for evidence from ex officers and staff as well as those currently employed.

Whatthechicken

Internalised misogyny is real, and will reflect the institution's overall culture, for the most part.

• sorry, to be clear, my comment was in response to nettie.

This was really sickening to read. Horrific. Poor poor woman, I can’t imagine how terrifying this must have been.

It's chilling. It is definitely a sexual assault and must have been terrible. I am very uneasy about the use of strip searches generally, it must feel like a violation for many people.

It's much more common than you think

My story is anonymised on here police-me-too.co.uk/

What compounds it all is that the original arrest (of her) was clearly unlawful and also clearly the police not liking someone ‘interfering’ with their stop and search.

It’s irrelevant that the young man had a knife - if they were carrying out the stop and search correctly then they had nothing to fear from the suspect being given an advice card.

Her arrest, and then everything that followed, was about stamping on ‘dissent.’ How dare an ordinary citizen (especially a woman, in their eyes) question their actions and hold them to the standards they swore an oath to uphold.

ArabellaScott
Yes, internalised misogyny seems inevitable - that or leaving the job.

Yes One I thought that was interesting about the comments.

OMG, this is all so flipping horrible. Ike, I don't want to ask which is your story but am just horrified there is a whole site set up for this. Thanks for the link but oh how awful. 😔

“PaterPower

What compounds it all is that the original arrest (of her) was clearly unlawful and also clearly the police not liking someone ‘interfering’ with their stop and search.

It’s irrelevant that the young man had a knife - if they were carrying out the stop and search correctly then they had nothing to fear from the suspect being given an advice card.

Her arrest, and then everything that followed, was about stamping on ‘dissent.’ How dare an ordinary citizen (especially a woman, in their eyes) question their actions and hold them to the standards they swore an oath to uphold.“

I think you are right.

How awful that this happened and then that nothing has happened. Those officers should all be disciplined. I don't believe in defunding the police though.

Defunding? I think probably more money needs to be spent on having a police force that is properly trained and the management in particular needs to understand sexism and misogyny and human rights, and be held to account.

I think I read the woman has published works about defunding the police

What were the circumstances for her original arrest - I'm assuming a male was being stop searched and she was interfering with that process?

I assume she has then go on to assault the officer in some way, which is why she was brought into custody.

If the arrest was lawful at that point, then custody have powers to search a person before they go into a cell. This is usually compliantly done, but if the subject is not willing to do this compliantly, then a non compliant search can be done including removal of clothing.

Custody have to be certain that a person in their care has no items on them that they can use to harm themselves whilst they are in a cell. There are loads of examples of people sneaking substances in which are taken in the cells and the person dying or having significant medical issues as a result. Weapons can often be brought in - can you remember the officer who was shot & killed recently in custody, or the prisoner who pulled out a knife in custody and stabbed the officer?

I'm not condoning the comments made by the officers following the search. They need to act professionally at all times. They will come across people from society who's personal hygiene is poor, or suffer from a medical issue or sleep rough and never wash/shower or change clothes etc. Its quite common and officers should not use this as a source of ridicule or other inappropriate comments.

It wouldn't have been difficult to read one of the links posted upthread. She handed an advice card to a boy who was being stop and searched.

and the magistrate found that she had done nothing wrong, ie ought not to have been arrested, far less detained and forcibly searched.
it was obviously done to discourage others from having the temerity to question what the police are doing/ advising others of their legal rights, in this case a minor, aged 15.

I dread to think what dark secrets Cressida Dick must know about some very powerful people. How else would she still be in that position otherwise?