Police officers are under scrutiny for “unacceptable” WhatsApp messaging with on-duty staff sharing sensitive case information such as photos and discriminatory comments, says a watchdog.
Claire Bassett, a senior Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), says an investigation has revealed a “canteen culture online” with officers sharing misogynistic, racist, homophobic content and jokes about the victims of crime.
It’s thought that officers are “assuming” the inappropriate content is private in a WhatsApp chat rendering them "free" to "banter".
However, Ms Bassett has condemned the messages for their “deeply offensive” material and for undermining public confidence and trust. She says they cannot be dismissed as trivial "banter between colleagues".
She added: “It may be that some police officers are saying things on WhatsApp, thinking they’re saying it in the equivalent of a tightly closed room, but actually that’s not the case,” she added.
“It could be replicating the canteen culture in the online space.”
The use of WhatsApp messaging was called into question after a spate of complaints against police officers.
Among them is the trial involving two Metropolitan Police officers who sent photos of the bodies of two murdered sisters to a group of friends and colleagues on WhatsApp.
PC Deniz Jaffer, 47, and PC Jamie Lewis, 33, pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.
Both of the men were assigned to guard the cordoned-off crime scene where Bibaa Henry, 66, and Nicole Smallman, 27, were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park in Wembley.
The pair snuck into the crime scene without authorisation on 7 June 2020 and captured the images.
The court case started just days after the watchdog revealed the investigation into Sarah Everad’s murder by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens had led to several officers facing misconduct proceedings.
Of these, a probationary constable who shared a graphic meme on WhatsApp illustrating violence against women in reference to the Everard tragedy. The recipient of the meme failed to challenge it.
The IOPC says WhatsApp is the most common messaging app seen in investigations of discriminatory and offensive material - overtaking other social media sites like Facebook.
There has been wider calls for a review into the app, with functions like ‘disappearing messages, a setting that deletes your messages after a specified time period, being used by members of the government.
Campaigners have accused the UK government of breaching freedom of information and the Public Records Act 1958 that requires officials to preserve documents in the public interest.
