Female Met officers join all-women running club to discuss women’s safety
The officers joined a run in south west London on Friday morning.
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Your support makes all the difference.Female police officers have joined an all-women running club as part of Scotland Yard’s efforts to ensure that women feel safe in public spaces.
It comes after the exposure of racist and sexist messages sent by Metropolitan Police officers, described by a female inspector at Friday morning’s jog as “hugely disappointing”.
Inspector Sarah Dobinson was among the officers joining runners in Merton south west London for a muddy 8km run.
She said the idea is “very simple”, with women joggers – whether living, working, or visiting the city – pairing up with a female officer through a “buddy system”, which will also provide the opportunity to “really understand their experiences” and “any concerns”.
The run took place in the same week as a report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct revealed highly offensive language used on WhatsApp and in Facebook chats by officers from a now disbanded team based in Westminster, primarily at Charing Cross police station.
On Tuesday, the watchdog took the unusual step of publishing the messages in full, despite many being too offensive to print as part of mainstream news coverage, because it said they were important for the public to see.
Messages exchanged included multiple references to sexual violence, including, “I would happily rape you”, and “If I was single I would happily Chloroform you”.
In other chats, one officer bragged about hitting his girlfriend and told a colleague: “It makes them love you more”, while another boasted he had repeatedly slept with a prostitute who he met through work.
One officer was referred to as “mcrapey raperson” in WhatsApp messages because of rumours he had taken a woman to a police station to have sex with her.
London mayor Sadiq Khan told the Metropolitan Police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick the messages reveal a “culture of racism, homophobia, bullying and misogyny” within the force which she must “drive out”.
Asked about the headlines around Met officers this week, Ms Dobinson said they were “hugely disappointing”.
“We’re police officers but we’re also members of the community as well,” she said, adding that officers have been “shocked and saddened by everything that’s been happening in recent weeks.”
She said: “We are people, so yeah, we do take that personally.”
Saying officers are “realising what’s happening”, Ms Dobinson continued: “We’ve got a lot of forums now to report any wrongdoing, any concerns, that can be anonymously through various different channels.
“So I think that is the positive message going forward – that improvements are being made.”
Caroline Dunleavy, who runs the Common Runners group, said the joggers saw the female officers “for themselves, really, rather than their role” in the force, but said it was also interesting to find out about their jobs.
She said she thinks the link-up is an “interesting” and “great” initiative, which comes on the back of the Met’s “walk and talk” scheme, where women joined officers on foot patrol to share their experiences and concerns about safety in public places.
What started as 25 neighbourhood officers buddying up with local women in south London has resulted in the scheme being rolled out across the capital, the Met said.