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Gang culture and violence is an obvious problem across the UK, a problem that the police claim to be resolving. But in reality, they are the very root of the issue. Exercising excessive power, using unnecessary force, and directing all this malpractice on minority groups, are all traits of a violent gang. Making the police the biggest gang in the UK.
UK police have for decades reinforced their racist, sexist, classist and homophobic agendas, yet we continue to act as if the UK is innocent rather than systematically corrupt. Terms like ‘The UK police don’t even have guns’ aim to diminish the seriousness of the issue by comparing it to police brutality in the US, which is just absurd. The police are public servants, their primary role is to protect and serve the public, but it seems they’re the ones we need protection from.
A 2022 report by YouGov found that “the number of Britons saying the police are doing a good job has fallen from 75% to 53% in two years.” So although, people are yet to realise the police are at the forefront of gang wars, trust and faith in our officers is far from sufficient.
Minority groups lack the most trust in police, and rightly so. People of colour, in particular black people, have been targeted by the police for decades and this extends outside of the US, contrary to popular belief. An Inquest report revealed that “Black people account for 8% of recorded deaths in police custody in the UK, despite forming only 3% of the UK population. A lack of guns within our police force does not equate to a lack of racism and police brutality, instead, it just allows it to go under the radar.
Most recently, we had the death of a young black man, Chris Kaba, who a police officer murdered. The police officer has since been charged with murder, it is quite unusual for justice to have favoured the black man. While most people celebrated the court’s decision, many in the police force took it upon themselves to highlight their racist tendencies and united front. Over 300 Metropolitan Officers protested the court's decision to stand in solidarity with their colleague, or in this case fellow gang member.
If racism wasn’t enough, sexism is also a key trait of this government-funded gang. Data from the National Police Chief’s Council revealed that “More than 1,500 police officers have been accused of violent offences against women and girls over a period of six months, and less than 1% have been sacked, according to new figures.”
It doesn’t just stop at sexism, sexism becomes sexual assault and eventually rape. While thousands of police officers have been accused of these heinous acts towards women, they continue to be protected by their higher-ups. With little to none of them facing any real consequences for their actions.
David Carrick, who lived his life believing he was “untouchable” due to his police status, managed to rape at least 12 women over 17 years before he was sentenced to life. Wayne Couzens kidnapped and raped Saraha Everard before he disposed of her body by burning it, after pleading guilty to his crimes he was sentenced to life. But these are just cases that have come to light.
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism found that “Police officers are being accused of rape at a rate of one a week.” Yet we barely hear about these cases in the news?
Information published by the Metropolitan Police itself following a Freedom of Information Request revealed exactly how many Met police officers accused of sexually motivated crimes are still serving. In 2022, nine Met officers were accused of rape, zero of which were suspended or dismissed. Another 29 were accused of sexual assault, only one of which was suspended - and this is just the Met police.
The police operate with a pack-like mentality, which for humans is a gang mentality. They are a national gang with government protection and hundreds of thousands of members. But what makes them the most dangerous is their belief that they are unstoppable combined with their hunger for power. Now although the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has found that UK police forces condone racism and sexism, further policing research has time and time again shown that something always fails to be done.
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