A Met Police colleague used a sexist slur about a rape victim – and kept his job

Whistleblowing on a colleague was the beginning of an alarming journey for former 999 call handler Issy Vine, who’s now suing the force for constructive dismissal

I have always had this innate longing to help people and protect them from harm. So, when I saw a role advertised for a 999 call handler for the Metropolitan Police Service, I immediately hit “apply”.

Although the first few years were a whirlwind of new information and nerves, I truly believed I had found the career for me. And, two years ago, I could never have imagined that my relationship with the police would come to a bitter end within 18 months – simply for doing the one thing they asked of me: reporting wrongdoing.

One day in April 2023, I had settled into a shift answering emergency calls and found myself sitting next to a colleague I had never met before. Throughout the shift he made horrific and unnerving comments to me, such as “she sounds like a sl**” about a rape victim.

He typed on his phone “why don’t you f*** off back to your own country” about an immigrant and whispered “Sarah Everard turf” into my ear while I was trying to help a victim on an emergency call, and he could see a map of the Clapham area on my screen. I even hung back after our shift ended to avoid him leaving, but – to my surprise – he was still outside when I exited and proceeded to follow me for the beginning part of my journey home, despite him saying earlier that day that he lived in the opposite direction.

When you work in public service, you are told over and over that if you witness misconduct, you should report it – and that you have a duty to report it. I did exactly this. If you had told me back then that what I was doing would end my career and thrust me towards a mental health crisis, I would not have believed you.

Because of my report, my colleague was dismissed for gross misconduct, but later reinstated because the appeal decision-maker thought it was “too harsh” and that the original panel was “too heavily swayed” by the police movement to combat violence against women and girls. Not to mention: the Baroness Casey report, which had found the Metropolitan Police institutionally misogynistic and racist.

As you can imagine, when I found out that my former colleague would be returning to work, I was heartbroken. I really thought the Met was trying to better itself. Clearly not.

For 18 months, I tried to raise my concerns, but was ignored and silenced. I left the force in November 2024. By this stage, my mental health was near breaking point – I felt like I had been seated at the Mad Hatter’s tea party, all that time.

The College of Policing’s guidance on misconduct hearing outcomes states that the proceedings “are not designed to punish police officers”. It also says that the panel should be centrally concerned with the reputation or standing of the profession, rather than the punishment of the employee.

Here we have a clear admission that reputation trumps the quality of the employees, which is clear in cases such as mine, and many others that are published online. A recent case of an officer sending unsolicited private pictures to another colleague, found proven, was deemed as “limited harm” as it was not publicly known, and the officer was given only an 18-month written warning.

We now have police employees and officers who cyber flash and vocalise racist, misogynistic and sexist opinions and still have their jobs. Sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it?

So, now I am campaigning to raise awareness on the nonsensical legislation, guidelines and policies that police forces rely on when making judgments on misconduct hearings. Sometimes it feels like my research has led me down a rabbit hole, unveiling just how much the police protect the police and how little they protect the public.

I have set up a platform called Speak Up Now, where public service workers can anonymously write in with their experiences and concerns, because I understand, first hand, just how impossible it is to hold them accountable from the inside, and if I can help others express concerns for good, then we are half way to effecting change. I have also created a petition to ask the government to reconsider the legislation and guidance that enables rogue employees to keep their jobs, in the hope that amendments will be made.

If any of the experiences I have detailed resonate with you, or if you have been on the receiving end of the failures in policing, then please do join me. If the police protect the police, then we must protect ourselves.