The Operation Hotton report into misconduct allegations at Charing Cross police station in London was deeply disturbing. It identified bullying and aggressive behaviour by officers, discrimination, misogyny and sexual harassment. In a highly unusual move, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which conducted the inquiry, published WhatsApp messages sent by officers in which they joked about rape, killing black children and beating their wives.
The decision to make the messages public was taken by Sal Naseem, the IOPC’s Regional Director for London, who oversaw Operation Hotton. He spoke to PolicingTV’s Chief Presenter, Danny Shaw, in the latest edition of ‘Talking Crime’, about the impact of the inquiry, the findings of a major IOPC report into the police use of stop-and-search - and if the watchdog is getting it right in the way it deals with complaints and misconduct: