Officers who witnessed sexism win £96,000

TWO male police officers have been awarded £96,000 after they claimed they were sidelined for raising concerns about sexist attitudes in their force.

The officers, from West Yorkshire Police, claimed they were sidelined in back office roles after blowing the whistle and have received compensation for injury to feelings and loss of overtime.

The two men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said senior officers displayed sexist attitudes and put themselves and other officers at risk on several occasions. A tribunal in 2015 found they had been victimised.

The men reported that one detective made comments about women in undercover positions, including that they were only good to use “on the arm” of principal male undercover officers and only good for minor roles.

They reported other officers as describing female undercover officers as “fit as f---” and said significant sums of money were spent on clothing and hair products to impress female officers on operations. The officers, who infiltrated criminal gangs, made a number of complaints about the conduct of managers, including risking health and safety by sending a police officer to an address obtained by covert means.

They said attempts to recover stolen property were dismissed and concern for burglary victims was brushed aside because they “had insurance”.

The pair said they believed one manager was drunk while supervising undercover officers.

They also made a complaint about an incident in which another officer’s life was deemed to have been put at risk when a photograph, sent as part of an undercover operation, was emailed with links back to the police force.

After raising their concerns, the pair were told that it was no longer safe for them to work undercover and were given police staff roles.

One has since been redeployed as a uniformed officer while the other has left the force. They were awarded damages by an employment tribunal in Leeds.

In a joint statement, the officers said: “Our policing career as we knew it is finished and all because we chose to voice our concerns rather than turn a blind eye. What hurts the most is that there has been no apology.”