Scotland Yard: London police are investigating their own employees in over 600 cases

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Scotland Yard (symbol photo)

Photo: Kirsty O'connor / dpa

The London police are investigating allegations of domestic violence and sexual harassment against their own employees in more than 600 cases.

This was confirmed by the Metropolitan Police at the request of the dpa news agency.

The BBC had previously reported on the investigation as part of a documentary.

It's about cases of misconduct up to criminal offenses, according to a police spokesman.

According to the BBC, Scotland Yard has set up its own unit to investigate the allegations, some of which come from internal staff but also from outside the agency.

The Metropolitan Police have long been struggling with a catastrophic loss of reputation over sexist and racist misconduct by police officers.

It hit rock bottom when, in March 2021, Londoner Sarah Everard was kidnapped, raped and murdered by a police officer on the pretext of arrest.

Just a few days ago, a former police officer who later worked as a border guard at the Ministry of the Interior was fired for allegedly sharing racist messages in WhatsApp groups.

Boss announces drastic measures

Scotland Yard boss Mark Rowley, who took over from his predecessor Cressida Dick just a few weeks ago, announced drastic measures to get the problems under control.

"I will be ruthless in removing from our organization these morally depraved officers and employees -- including racists and misogynists," Rowley said in a statement.

Scotland Yard, London's police force, has long enjoyed a high reputation around the world.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) achieved world fame with its investigative methods.

Fingerprint collection became a model for similar systems in other countries.

Scotland Yard is actually only responsible for policing tasks in Greater London, but also maintains a database of all criminals in Great Britain and assists police authorities in other states if required.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) takes its Scotland name from the former royal residence of the Scottish kings in London, where the police headquarters was for many decades from 1829 onwards.

bam/dpa