In a 30-page statement, submitted to the force’s Professional Standards Department (PSD) in May 2023, and seen by The Herald on Sunday, a senior officer said there was a “culture of misogyny amongst officers, both male and female” in the division responsible for investigating some of Scotland’s worst sexual crimes.
The Detective Inspector alleged that some in the unit claimed people complaining to police about sex crimes were "not good enough victims."
She also said one colleague said a complainer was "probably just a slag and drunk".
In one instance, the officer claimed there was a reluctance to investigate a complaint as the woman involved did not appear to be “resisting enough."
This was “despite evidence from other women who complained about the suspect’s predatory behaviour towards them on the same evening and the fact that the complainer had suffered vaginal injuries.”
She also made shocking allegations about the force’s child abuse investigation unit.
She claimed colleagues said two vulnerable children with additional support needs who alleged they had been raped “knew what they were doing, had led the suspect on and had encouraged his behaviour and so deserved it.”
She said some officers blamed girls for being "street smart," "promiscuous," and having chaotic lives, describing them as “wee madams.”
In a letter to Justice Secretary Angela Constance and MSPs on Holyrood’s Justice Committee, the inspector’s solicitor, Margaret Gribbon, said the issues raised in her client’s witness statement should have been treated as whistleblowing and investigated as such, however, they were instead treated by the force under their grievance procedures.
The lawyer said that meant that the force avoided a proper investigation into the culture in the two units, based in Osprey House.
It also denied her client the support and protection afforded to whistleblowers under the Police Scotland Whistleblowing Policy and Guidance.
The detective is currently locked in an employment tribunal against Police Scotland on the grounds of sex discrimination and unfair treatment after whistleblowing.
Just some extracts from a longer article at https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24902334.culture-misogyny-police-scotland-sex-crime-unit/
Can also be read in full at https://archive.is/QxGtY