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Nearly a thousand police officers and staffers from several forces across the UK have reportedly been investigated since 2015 after allegedly sharing abusive social media content, including sexist, racist, and homophobic material.
Despite the severity of the alleged offences, the majority - including several senior members - received only disciplinary action, according to an investigation by the Daily Mail. But the paper noted that the actual figure was likely to be far higher, since only 32 of the 44 police forces in England, Wales, and Scotland responded to its Freedom of Information requests.
According to the report, only a small fraction - 53 individuals - of at least 999 police force officers and employees accused by colleagues or members of the public over the past six years are no longer on the job. Nearly three quarters of the allegations were reportedly judged to be serious enough to warrant some type of disciplinary action.
Hundreds were reported for allegedly posting disturbing material on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, while others were accused of sending explicit photos to colleagues, and even sharing sexual content with underage and vulnerable victims.
The Met recorded the highest number of allegations, registering 277 complaints against its personnel, despite only providing the newspaper with data for the past year. The UK's largest police force has come in for increased scrutiny following the conviction of former Met officer Wayne Couzens for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford, the standards spokesman for the National Police Chiefs' Council, told the paper that the body was "aware of rare cases" where inappropriate material had been shared, but noted that only a "very small number of staff think this is acceptable."
The figures come in the wake of revelations that Couzens had exchanged degrading content with colleagues on WhatsApp before he attacked Everard in March. The serving police officers - apparently including three from the Met Police - who shared messages with Couzens are now under criminal investigation.
Former Met Police Detective Superintendent Paige Kimberley recently accused UK Home Secretary Priti Patel and Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick of ignoring her reports about a "vulgar and sexist" WhatsApp group apparently similar to the one used by Couzens.
Kimberly had said the group was "aggressive and inappropriate" and included graphic images which displayed "very misogynistic and sexist" attitudes towards women. She also claimed to have raised her concerns of a "flourishing sexist environment" in the force with Cressida Dick in March.
In July, a total of 12 misconduct or gross-misconduct notices were handed to serving police officers by the Independent Officer for Police Conduct in relation to the investigation on Couzens. Three officers received gross-misconduct notices after sharing an "inappropriate graphic" via social media before manning the cordon on the scene of the search for Everard.
The police watchdog had also issued another notice for gross misconduct and an additional six notices for misconduct to officers who allegedly "breached standards of professional behaviour" by sharing details related to Couzens' prosecution in private messages.
Meanwhile, a recent investigation by the iNews outlet found that a total of 771 Met Police officers and staff have faced sexual misconduct allegations over the past 11 years. Over the same period, 163 Met officers were apparently arrested for various sexual offences - with 38 convicted in court.
However, the news outlet reported last week that only 83 of the accused officers have been dismissed since 2010 - citing data, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, from January 1, 2010 to May 31, 2021. The sexual misconduct allegations reportedly range from sexual harassment to sexual assault, rape, and using a position of power for sexual gain.
Sinema confrontations escalate as she is accosted on plane and at DC airport
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona was confronted by protesters on a flight and in the airport about her refusal to support the Democrats' $3.5 trillion spending bill on Monday, one day after activists barged into a bathroom and filmed her .
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has caused quite a stir on British social media as he announced tougher sanctions against activists "unfairly blocking motorways", and new powers for the police to deal with "illegitimate protesters".
"We can't have people's lives unfairly disrupted by those who are blocking motorways, gluing themselves to the tarmac," Johnson said in a video statement published on Twitter, referring to the latest series of protests staged by Insulate Britain, a splinter group of Extinction Rebellion.
"We're taking action on illegitimate protestors who are unfairly blocking motorways and disrupting people's lives. We're giving the police the measures to stop them, with protesters facing six months in jail or unlimited fines," he wrote in a tweet with the video attached.
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People took to Twitter to ask the prime minister to clarify whom exactly he considered to be "illegitimate" when it came to protests. Others asserted that there was "no such thing as an illegitimate protest" and called Johnson's choice of words "particularly chilling" for anyone who "believes in democracy."
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Critics noted that London was more than eager to support pretty much any protests, including violent ones, in distant lands such as Syria, Iran or India, but took a completely different stance when faced with peaceful demonstrations at home.
There were some who agreed on the need for tougher measures to tackle radical climate activism, however. They accused the protesters of "blocking ambulances" and called the activists' approach "petulant and childish." Nonetheless, that did not necessarily mean they were satisfied with the government's response, as at least some of them demanded actions instead of words.
Comment: It's rather curious that just over a year ago at the World Economic Forum's Cyber Polygon 2020 event, the Great Reset pushers were warning of a 'cyberpandemic', and, since then, there's been a surge in ransomware attacks, hacks against infrastructure and major business systems; and note that these are just the ones that have been reported: