When Police Officers are Accused of Sexual Abuse, Trust is also a Victim

Why don’t people trust authorities designated to protect them? Perhaps the answer lies in yet another incident of sexual abuse by police officers, this time in Great Britain. The national watchdog group, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, revealed 426 accusations against English and Welsh officers over two years. Sadly, the victims were some of the most vulnerable people in society, including victims of domestic abuse, addicts and sex workers, many of whom were in custody at the time. By abusing their power this way, police officers are not only scarring their victims for life, they are also committing perhaps one of the most egregious ramifications of the government bully—the violation of the public trust.

Credit: BIGSTOCK

The Worst Kind of Workplace Culture

This is a perfect example of a horribly toxic work environment. It seems the Oakland Police Dept. isn’t only mired by bigoted racism, as was found in a Stanford study referenced in this article. The fact that an alleged 28 police officers in the area had relations with an underage prostitute, leading to the resignation of three police chiefs in 10 days, is evocative of one of the worst varieties of workplace poisonousness. How many other officers knew of this behavior, and were compelled to stay silent? How many participated in this behavior because they were compelled to? Finally, how many upper level officers looked the other way? Beyond a cultural transformation, everyone in a supervisory level who was aware (or should have been aware) needs to be fired. You can read more about this horrible situation at NPR.

Photo: Former Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent, who was the first chief to resign over the accusations. Josh Edelson for Getty Images via NPR.