Ex-officer claims her male colleagues had sex with female suspects

Charing Cross Met scandal: Ex-officer claims her male colleagues called black staff ‘monkeys’, had sex with female suspects in the station and says one sergeant ‘bragged about his favourite Russian escort at Spearmint Rhino’

• ‘Toxic’ culture existed at station dating back to 2006, former officer claimed
• Described ‘awful atmosphere’ where officer allegedly had sex with a suspect
• Revelations come just days after a shocking report by the police watchdog  

A former Met officer has come forward with new allegations of horrifying behaviour by officers at Charing Cross police station, including claims officers slept with female suspects and called black colleagues ‘monkeys’.

A ‘toxic’ culture existed at the station dating back to 2006, said the former constable, who asked to be referred to by her first name, Liz.

The ex-officer said there was an ‘awful’ atmosphere at the station where men had sex with women in bathrooms, ‘mercilessly bullied’ a colleague and made ‘cruel and sexual comments’ about women in the street while senior leaders stayed silent.

She said her male colleagues were like ‘kids in a candy store’ given the station’s proximity to ‘pubs, bars and party culture’, with one sergeant bragging about seeing his favourite Russian escort at Spearmint Rhino.

A ‘toxic’ culture existed at the Charing Cross Station dating back to 2006, said the former constable, who asked to be referred to by her first name, Liz

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog has said it will look into the shocking allegations.

The revelation comes just days after a report by the watchdog exposed a cruel, toxic ‘boys club’ culture at the station.

It found cops made rape jokes, boasted about domestic violence and made vile racist remarks in WhatsApp exchanges.

Grim texts between officers about raping women, killing black children, pedophilia, Muslims, Auschwitz and disabled people were also published in the watchdog’s report.

‘Officer didn’t even flinch when I opened the door to find him having sex with the suspect he’d just arrested’ 

A female officer who worked at Charing Cross has described opening the door to find a detective having sex with a woman he had just arrested. 

‘[I remember them] not even flinching when the door opened, it was just almost like this was a regular thing that happened,’ she claimed to MyLondon.

During the officer’s time at the Central London station in the 2000s the building’s toilets and cells were often used by some officers for sex, she said. 

‘It was a place to go and have sex before they went home to their girlfriends or wives,’ she continued.

‘Sometimes it would just be women they picked up, but there were a few instances [in addition to the one I saw] where colleagues said they knew of officers who made an arrest and then had sex with the prisoner.’

Women brought back to the station were sometimes highly intoxicated and in vulnerable situations. Sex workers in the area were also exploited by some officers, the former officer alleged.

‘They would often arrest the prostitutes and would take them back to the station [for sex],’ she continued. ‘It was a running joke that prostitutes knew the pin number to get into the cells better than the police officers. The security risk on that was appalling because the pin wouldn’t be changed [that often] and this is a station where they take terrorist prisoners as well.’ 

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has told Met boss Dame Cressida Dick she is ‘on notice’ and has ‘days and weeks, not months’ to fix what appears to be a broken culture at the under-fire force.

The revelations follow a torrid year for the force after serving officer Wayne Couzens was convicted of the high profile murder of Sarah Everard, the force’s handling of a vigil for the murdered woman was widely criticised and two officers were jailed for taking photos of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman.

Liz – told LondonWorld she witnessed appalling behaviour by male cops after graduating from Hendon Police College in the mid-noughties.

She moved to another station in a different borough after two years and is now a writer living in Perth, Australia.

She says she saw officers having sex down the station, caught a male cop in the act with someone he had arrested and she was victim to ‘countless propositioning from male colleagues.’

As the only woman in her team, she had to endure a night out at the Spearmint Rhino strip club where a sergeant bragged about having ‘his favourite Russian girl’.

On one occasion, she was sat in a carrier vehicle in Whitehall when all the male officers made lewd sexual comments about every woman that walked past.

Black officers were referred to as ‘monkeys’ and officers said ‘they better smile at night or we won’t see them’.

An autistic police community support officer was mercilessly bullied and ‘mindf***ed’ until he thought it was all part of him being ‘part of the team’, she claimed.

She said she knew the behaviour was wrong but did not know who to turn to, fearing bosses would turn a blind eye and she would be ostracised by colleagues.

Liz said: ‘It really was awful – toxic at worst. There is no exaggeration.

‘I knew I should say something but to who? My reaction was that I would be unsupported by colleagues in a job that depends on others if you face difficulty on patrol.

‘Senior leadership were silent – you never saw them.

‘Inspectors were usually pretty absent* behaviour was overlooked.’

She said the station’s location at the heart of the capital contributed to the bad atmosphere.

‘It was like kids in a candy store, surrounded by bars, pubs and party culture,’ she said.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has told Met boss Dame Cressida Dick she is ‘on notice’ and has ‘days and weeks, not months’ to fix what appears to be a broken culture at the under-fire force 

While Liz said the IOPC report was ‘no shock at all.’

She added: ‘It’s just a shock that 14 years later the same behaviour is happening.

‘I worked at other stations in London, but Charing Cross was by far and away the loosest, racist, sexist one by far.

‘It totally affected how I felt about the police.

‘At its worst, it puts uneducated and emotionally unintelligent people with a toolbox of weapons and powers that can change someone’s life forever.

‘It made me realise how entitled these people were.’

A spokesperson for the IOPC said: ‘We would encourage the former officer to contact us so that we can assess how these allegations could be progressed.

‘Details of how to contact us and our report line for police officers and staff are available on our website.

‘In line with procedure a decision on whether to investigate would first require a referral from the force.’

These are MailOnline mock-ups of WhatsApp conversations that were published in the IOPC report. Warning: Graphic language 

Further mock-ups of messages sent by a male officer during another shocking conversation on WhatsApp 

Liz has confirmed she will be contacting the IOPC.

Detective Chief Superintendent Owain Richards, responsible for local policing in central London, said: ‘The Met has already taken considerable steps to improve leadership and standards which included a complete overhaul of our local policing service in 2018.

‘Last year we further strengthened local leadership teams by introducing a new chief inspector who is based at Charing Cross police station and is charged with driving a step change in culture and professional standards.

‘While this is not the same Met it was a decade ago, I recognise we still have a lot of work to do to gain back the trust and confidence of Londoners.

‘That is why the Commissioner has asked Baroness Casey of Blackstock to carry out an independent review which I hope will lead to lasting change across the organisation.’

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