Rob HorganCHIEF Minister Fabian Picardo has launched a probe into allegations of ‘institutional racism and sexism’ within the Gibraltar Police Authority.
A former UK police officer has accused the GPA of being ‘built on a hierarchy of bullies’ and claims she was left ‘battered and bruised’ from a three-day police constable assessment at the start of December.
Picardo has now asked the GPA to provide a factual report in response to the allegations, after meeting with senior GPA officials on December 16.
The British police officer – who for now is remaining anonymous – told Gibraltar’s Panorama website that the Chief Inspector ‘ridiculed and made fun of candidates’ based on their race and sex.
She claims the inspector nicknamed a black candidate ‘Obama’, labelled British people ‘lemons’ and complained female officers were inferior because ‘they’re off every bloody month with their PMS’.
Among the officer’s long list of shocking allegations, she claims the 52 candidates were forced to run over ground which contained live ammunition while RGP officers called them ‘f*cking idiots’ and ‘f*cking sheep’ when they wouldn’t.
She said: “We were told not to pick anything up or kick anything, because if we did ‘we would at best lose a leg or a hand’.
“The whole thing was a total nightmare.”
The Police issued its own statement saying the commissioner and his senior management team believed the allegations will be found to be ‘unsubstantiated’.
Any recruit selection programme of merit will push potential candidates to their limits. The aim is simply to get rid of all those who will crack under pressure in a real life situation. Instructors will home in on anything, whether you have a big nose or large ears, in order to test your self discipline.
One has to remember that the public they will be facing will not always be politically correct. If a recruit cannot withstand exercise scenarios then how is he/she expected to react rationally in a real emergency.
Sounds like sour grapes to me because she wasn’t selected and now wants some compensation. Proof she wasn’t up to the task.
Do the general public scatter live ammunition on the floor for the police to dance around?
Selection takes place on a military training area. You will only find empty cases of blank ammunition. Live rounds are only used on the firing ranges which are situated away from the said training area. The British Army never scatters live ammunition on a dry training area. In fact, they are too professional to scatter live ammunition anywhere.
It is obvious the unsuccessful candidate is after compensation.
You’ve spoiled it now Fifi, they won’t be able to use that one on recruits again.
Everyone knows that police forces and army forces GENERALLY attract lovers of power and force – and of low morality. So it make sense that the brain washing of candidates must start early on to start that “me vs them” mentality. “I am now an officer and the rest of the public are now inferior to me”. That cracking down on flaws is a well known part of the breaking down process with the expectation that the same way they treat you there – you will then treat the public – which you now view as pure sh*t. The police force don’t serve the public. They serve the privileged and their own egos. Selection weekend has nothing to do with physical prowess.