It shouldn’t take undercover journalists to expose policing’s sexist and racist culture

It shouldn’t take undercover journalists to expose policing’s sexist and racist culture

Ceri Breeze/ShutterstockAs a researcher of police occupational culture, I was horrified, but not at all surprised by the recent Panorama programme in which an undercover reporter exposed sexism, racism and general thuggishness among some Metropolitan Police officers. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, the BBC produced another groundbreaking example of undercover reporting in the world of policing. In The Secret Policeman (2003), journalist Mark …

Toxic culture in the Met: No more excuses

8 October 2025  Toxic culture in the Met: No more excuses  Last week, we were dismayed but not surprised to discover that yet again - misogyny and racism is alive and well within the police. We share the public’s horror at the findings of Panorama’s undercover investigation into Charing Cross Police Station. But we are not shocked. What we saw confirms what women, Black and minoritised communities, and LGBTQ+ people have been saying for years. A…