Police culture made my son a racist and misogynist, mother tells LBC

1 February 2022, 16:10 | Updated: 1 February 2022, 16:18

By Seán Hickey

This caller tells Shelagh Fogarty that her son became a 'dogmatic' misogynist and poked fun at suicide victims – after he joined the police force.

Loading audio...

The Independent Office for Police Conduct reported a shocking culture of racism and misogyny within the Metropolitan police following a series of investigations into conduct within the force.

"Anne" phoned in to tells LBC that the institutional issues within police forces nationwide, as she shared the story of her son's deterioration after joining a force outside London.

She told Shelagh Fogarty that he had began displaying deeply misogynistic behaviours after joining the police, addressing women in offensive terms and bragging about the fact "he had sectioned women."

"He would call women every name under the sun."

She said his change in attitude "worked its way into other sorts of things", telling Shelagh that her son "made three separate jokes about people who had taken their own lives" in her presence.

"He sounds like he's been radicalised somewhere" Shelagh said, pushing "Anna" to find the root of her son's personality shift.

"This happened after he joined the police" she insisted, telling Shelagh that she is "not talking to him" and "won't talk to him again" due to his attitude towards others.

"That's an extraordinary thing to hear a mother say." "I'm not prepared to listen to this sort of thing", the caller replied, saying "he has become so dogmatic" since joining the force.

She went on to tell listeners that she hasn't reported him because she doesn't trust "the culture of the police" to address the issues effectively.

"These aren't the words of a deluded mother...he was an ordinary person", she insisted, declaring "my son is working within a system thats....a rotten system."