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City of London Police bullying 'framed as banter' as staff screamed at says race report

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date17 September 2021
Publication titleMyLondon (England)
The force commissioned workplace experts Inclusive Employers to look at inclusion and diversity in the force in June 2020.

The study found staff from Asian/Asian British backgrounds were the less likely to feel respected at work than those from other minority groups.

White male staff were more satisfied than others

The report says staff feel discrimination is an issue in the force that they are afraid to flag. It also claims staff are expected to “fall in line or be cast out”.

Read more: Black men 'viewed as suspects before committing a crime' claims ex-officer as racism in policing inquiry launched

The report says: "The most common theme in all the listening exercises was a culture of overt and covert discrimination.

"This discrimination happened to staff who ‘didn’t fit’ because of their job role e.g. police staff, staff who worked part time, Black, Asian and non-white majority staff, women, staff with disabilities.

"Bullying and offensive comments or behaviour are framed as ‘banter’ and excused as just part of the job.

"Staff don’t feel able to raise issues about offensive or excluding behaviour for fear of being ignored or victimised.

"Several respondents had experienced or witnessed senior staff screaming or shouting at staff, making people cry, and other bullying behaviour."

The report adds that support from managers is varied and some teams are more welcoming and inclusive than others.

"There were no comments to suggest that managers were trained to build inclusive teams that incorporated a diverse range of perspectives and skills," it continues.

"Many respondents felt that in-groups or cliques within the force make it difficult for staff who don’t ‘fit’ to succeed.

"Several respondents shared examples of when high performing staff were essentially frozen out of the in-group and then left the force.

"When reported, investigations weren’t transparent or were not carried out according to policy, or staff who raised complaints were ‘targeted’ for raising the issue."

Some staff say they...

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