Armed and mutinous
Secret memo claims squad is riven by sexism and bullying Chiefs told o officers are demoralised and exhausted
An elite armed unit is accused of concealing a culture of sexism and bullying in a confidential report sent to Police Scotland’s most senior officers.
The document, written by a former member and seen by The Sunday Post, claims the firearms unit is demoralised with exhausted, heavily-armed officers expected to make critical decisions in life-and-death situations.
The sergeant’s report, circulated at the highest level of the national force, claims there is a macho, gung- ho attitude to firearm protocols and suggests officers attempting to challenge a toxic workplace culture would see their careers stall before leaving the force silenced by non-disclosure agreements.
The alarming description of the unit can be revealed after a former lord advocate, in a report commissioned by ministers, said Police Scotland must address sexism and racism in the ranks.
Former officer Rhona Malone served in the same squad and blames sexism for ending her police career. Yesterday, she said: “I had to stand up for myself and for the women coming after me.”
An elite police unit is accused of concealing a culture of sexism and bullying in a confidential report sent to Police Scotland’s most senior officers and seen by The Sunday Post.
The document, written by a former member, describes a demoralised unit of exhausted armed officers expected to make critical decisions in life- anddeath situations.
The sergeant’s report, circulated to senior officers, was intended to provoke improvements to management and morale but was quickly dismissed by the national force. It claims officers in the Firearms East unit, covering Edinburgh and Stirling, attempted to challenge the toxic attitudes but saw their careers stall before leaving the force silenced by non-disclosure agreements.
In a re p o r t sent to the national force’s executive officers, the sergeant, who was twice commended during his career, claimed female officers were bullied; senior officers used language offensive to women and disabled people; and alleged there was a “gung- ho” attitude to strict firearms protocols.
He also claimed a refusal to pay overtime led to machine guns and ammunition being stored unguarded in an island police station without armed guard during a visit by royals and US diplomats.
In the report, a senior training officer is accused of mocking disabled people by making insulting noises, and using language offensive to people with learning disabilities when describing student officers. Another senior officer was accused of swear ing when referring to another officer’s pregnant wife before using offensive language to describe her.
T he wh i s t l e b l ow e r also claimed armed officers were ordered by some senior officers to point their weapons at everyone, regardless of age, when in “contain and call out” situations. This, according to the experienced officer, “included five- year- old children in their pyjamas”.
Concerns were also raised over the demands made on tired armed officers sometimes asked to work seven days a week while expected to make instant life-or-death judgment calls. The document also warned “morale and the opinion of management is now so low, that officers are questioning whether it is impacting on their decision- making when deployed”, adding: “This obviously has huge implications. It goes without saying that this would be a significant public safety concern with potentially catastrophic repercussions.”
Despite the serious issues raised in the sergeant’s report, Police Scotland’s professional standards department told chiefs there need be no further action: “These matters can be
competently assessed as grievance, with potentially some minor misconduct matters that can be dealt with at local level.”
The author of the report declined to comment when contacted. He said: “I am unable to discuss this as, regretfully, I have signed a non- disclosure agreement. I will, however, be present to give evidence in public at Rhona Malone’s civil action.”
In response, Police Scotland said: “The significant majority of our officers and staff conduct themselves in line with our values of fairness, integrity, respect and with a commitment to upholding human rights. When and where inappropriate conduct is brought to our attention... where necessary, appropriate action is taken.”
The force also said the use of non- disclosure agreements is widespead and considered good practice by independent bodies.
The sergeant’s report was written after a female firearms officer claimed she was forced out of the unit by sexism. Rhona Malone, who resigned in April after being granted ill-health retirement, has raised a sexual discrimination case, claiming she was undermined and discredited. She is taking Police Scotland to an employment tribunal.
Ms Malone, 44, claims her career was destroyed after reporting a senior officer who ordered that two female officers should not be on duty without a man because of “obvious differences in physical capacity”.
The email was the last in a series of incidents in the unit where, she said, the culture could resemble Life On Mars, the TV police series featuring outdated 1970s attitudes and practices.
She said: “There had been incidents in the run- up to the email which summed up the misogynistic attitude in the squad, including male officers being paid overtime when I wasn’t.
“When I made an issue over that, I was shouted at and eventually only one officer was paid. After that, I was accused of throwing my utility belt down while it contained my armed gun, something I’d never do.
“It was all designed to diminish my credibility, chip away at me. I couldn’t accept that. I had to stand up for myself and for the other women coming after me. I found out it was all about ‘protect and preserve’ instead of ‘protect and serve’.
“There was an unspoken, underlying attitude and atmosphere designed to make me look like a neurotic woman when I’m anything but.”
Earlier this month, a report by former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini found evidence of misogyny within Police Scotland and called for a drive to rid the force of a macho culture.
The landmark report into police complaints, investigations and misconduct issues found a series of areas of concern – including the experience of women officers in the force.
The re p o r t , called “The Independent Review of Complaints Handling, Investigations and Misconduct Issues in Relation to Policing”, ran to 490 pages and made 81 recommendations. Among them was a call for an independent review into equality in Police Scotland. Angiolini said: “I was deeply concerned to hear about the experiences of officers and staff from Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, as I was to hear about discrimination experienced by female police officers and by LGBTI officers.”
Ms Malone said: “I felt she was almost talking about me in places. She nailed everything that is wrong about the force.”
Former deputy chief constable Angela Wilson, who was one of the most senior female officers in Scotland, said an independent body should now be tasked with ensuring the recommendations are implemented in full.
She said: “The report is a watershed moment for Police Scotland. Many people have pointed out on numerous occasions that the force is sexist and misogynistic, but this is the first time it has been said by someone with Dame Elish’s gravitas.
“It’s clear because so little has been done so far to improve things for the better, change can only come from an outside truly independent body.
“The good news is that there are more women joining the force, but so much more needs to be done to make it a comfortable and happy place to work for them and for the ethnic and minority staff whose disappointing treatment has been highlighted in the report.”
In response to the Angiolini Report, Chief Constable Iain Livingstone QPM said: “Discrimination of any kind is deplorable and unacceptable and I utterly condemn it. It has no place in society, and no place in policing. Our core values are integrity, fairness and respect and a commitment to upholding human rights.”