6 Met police officers face sack over blatant racist messages

Six Metropolitan police officers might be sacked for allegedly sending each other racist jokes through text messages in the summer of 2012.

According to the Guardian, the officers from the borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London are alleged to have sent 31 text messages of 'highly offensive nature'.

Their hearing is due in November where the maximum sanction is dismissal without notice if they are found guilty of the discreditable conduct alleged.

The report said that out of the six officers one is a sergeant with nine years service and five are constables. Two of the six, the sergeant and a PC, have been suspended, while the rest are now on restricted duties.

Met's directorate of professional standards believes that the texts were sent when the officers were off-duty.

The report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) led the Met to admit it was letting down the public in the way it handled racism complaints,

The (IPCC) has called for 'a cultural change in the way the MPS deals with such complaints, supported by training, monitoring and community feedback' because the force tends to respond only to 'overt' racism such as use of 'n****r' and when other evidence such as mobile phone footage or whistleblower testimony is provided, the report added.