Former police officer tells LBC she was sexually harassed by colleagues
3 October 2021, 12:53
Former officer tells LBC she has been sexually harassed by colleagues
This former policewoman told Tom Swarbrick that she 'felt helpless' after being propositioned and exposed to by two separate officers.
Tom Swarbrick was taking calls on how the sentencing of Wayne Couzens for the murder of Sarah Everard has impacted policing services up and down the country.
Karen phoned in from Essex to share her story of harassment at the hands of her colleagues in the police force.
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"I was exposed to" the caller admitted, before adding that she was propositioned by another colleague after carrying out a section 32 search.
"We had the keys to the property and we pulled up outside the property and he actually asked me to go in and have, you know, sex with him."
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"I'm questioning now, why as an officer I didn't feel like I could report that", the caller said.
She said that the events occurred about 15 years ago, having spent 20 years as an officer.
"What do you wish you'd done?" Tom asked.
Karen admitted she didn't know, admitting "I don't feel that I would have been believed."
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Tom wondered if the caller felt that her job would have been made more difficult had she reported the harassment. "Maybe", she said.
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"You've got to have, like I say, a level of resilience where you can show, you know, you can handle them."
Tom was in disbelief: "A police officer has committed an illegal act in front of you" -- "and I laughed it off", Karen added.
"I froze, I laughed it off and I still felt helpless in that situation."
