Bad Gays

Cressida Dick (Part Two)


Listen Later

Unusually for this show, which normally focuses on long departed historical figures, today we’re going to talk about someone who’s still very much in the news. Until last week, she was the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, London’s police force, and was the first woman and the first LBGTQ person to hold the rank, Dame Cressida Dick. Today, part two of two: we discuss Dick's tenure at the Metropolitan Police, the extrajudicial murder of Jean Charles de Menezes, Dick's cynical deployment of her identity to deflect critique, the spy cops scandal, the botched investigation into gay serial killer Stephen Port, the Met's dismal record on race, and the protests that finally forced Dick out.

----more----

SOURCES:

Ramzy Alwakeel, “I Covered Stephen Port’s Murders. I Know Cressida Dick’s Departure Isn’t Enough,” OpenDemocracy, accessed February 22, 2022, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/cressida-dick-resignation-met-police-stephen-ports-murders/

Anonymous, “Gangs Violence Matrix and Black Londoners,” Text, Mayor’s Question Time, December 10, 2018, https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2018/5242

Jason Bennetto, “We Are Still Racist, Police Chief Admits,” The Independent, April 21, 2003, sec. News, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/we-are-still-racist-police-chief-admits-116145.html

Owen Bowcott and Owen Bowcott Legal affairs correspondent, “Jean Charles de Menezes: Family Lose Fight for Police Officers to Be Prosecuted,” The Guardian, March 30, 2016, sec. UK news, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/30/jean-charles-de-menezes-police-officers-shouldshould-not-be-prosecuted-echr

Graham Bowley, “Police Erred in Shooting in London, Report Finds,” The New York Times, August 18, 2005, sec. World, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/18/world/europe/police-erred-in-shooting-in-london-report-finds.html

Caroline Davies, “Stephen Port Laptop Not Inspected until He Had Killed Three Times, Inquest Told,” The Guardian, October 13, 2021, sec. UK news, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/13/stephen-port-laptop-not-inspected-until-he-had-killed-three-times-inquest-told

Vikram Dodd and Dan Sabbagh, “Daniel Morgan Murder: Inquiry Brands Met Police ‘Institutionally Corrupt,’” The Guardian, June 15, 2021, sec. UK news, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jun/15/daniel-morgan-met-chief-censured-for-hampering-corruption-inquiry

Jamie Grierson and Jamie Grierson Home affairs correspondent, “Met Carried out 22,000 Searches on Young Black Men during Lockdown,” The Guardian, July 8, 2020, sec. Law, https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/jul/08/one-in-10-of-londons-young-black-males-stopped-by-police-in-may

Mark Hughes, “Seven Mistakes That Cost De Menezes His Life,” The Independent, December 13, 2008, sec. News, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/seven-mistakes-that-cost-de-menezes-his-life-1064466.html

Marina Hyde, “Farewell, Cressida Dick, the Met Chief Only Interested in One Thing: Ignoring Bad Coppers,” The Guardian, February 11, 2022, sec. Opinion, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/11/farewell-cressida-dick-the-met-chief-only-interested-in-one-thing-ignoring-bad-coppers

Paul Lewis and Rob Evans, “Secrets and Lies: Untangling the UK ‘spy Cops’ Scandal,” The Guardian, October 28, 2020, sec. UK news, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/28/secrets-and-lies-untangling-the-uk-spy-cops-scandal

Ben Quinn, “Macpherson Report: What Was It and What Impact Did It Have?,” The Guardian, February 22, 2019, sec. UK news, https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/feb/22/macpherson-report-what-was-it-and-what-impact-did-it-have

Alex S. Vitale, “Cressida Dick Isn’t the Problem. The Police Are the Problem,” OpenDemocracy, accessed February 22, 2022, https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/cressida-dick-metropolitan-police-alex-vitale/

“Trapped in the Gangs Matrix” (Amnesty International, May 2020), https://www.amnesty.org.uk/london-trident-gangs-matrix-metropolitan-police

“Review Identifies Eleven Opportunities for the Met to Improve on Stop and Search | Independent Office for Police Conduct” (Independent Office for Police Conduct, October 2020), https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/review-identifies-eleven-opportunities-met-improve-stop-and-search

“Stephen Port: How Met Failings Contributed to the Deaths of Three Men,” BBC News, December 10, 2021, sec. UK, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59576717.

We also encourage people listening to this episode to learn more about organizations combating police violence. Here are some organizations in the UK and around the world engaged in activist work related to this episode:

 

London Campaign against Police and State Violence http://lcapsv.net/

United Friends and Families Campaign https://uffcampaign.org/

Sisters Uncut https://www.sistersuncut.org/

Inquest  - a charity that focuses on getting truth and accountability for state related deaths https://www.inquest.org.uk/

https://policespiesoutoflives.org.uk/

 

Kampagne für Opfer Rassistische Polizeigewalt Berlin: https://kop-berlin.de/
 
Critical Resistance resources on police abolition for US listeners: https://criticalresistance.org/abolish-policing/
 
Also, follow local Copwatches on Twitter:

@HackneyCopWatch @N15Copwatch @LambethCopwatch @CopwatchSthwrk @bizziewatch @MCRcopwatch @BristolCopwatch

@KidsOfColourHQ @npolicemonitor 

 

Our intro music is Arpeggia Colorix by Yann Terrien, downloaded from WFMU's Free Music Archive and distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Our outro music is by DJ Michaeloswell Graphicsdesigner.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Bad GaysBy Huw Lemmey & Ben Miller

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

478 ratings


More shows like Bad Gays

View all
The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

293 Listeners

Gender Reveal by Tuck Woodstock

Gender Reveal

1,241 Listeners

You're Wrong About by Sarah Marshall

You're Wrong About

21,684 Listeners

American Hysteria by chelsey weber-smith

American Hysteria

3,216 Listeners

Death Panel by Death Panel

Death Panel

524 Listeners

The Polyester Podcast by The Polyester Podcast

The Polyester Podcast

199 Listeners

5-4 by Prologue Projects

5-4

3,393 Listeners

You Are Good by Sarah Marshall + Alex Steed

You Are Good

2,657 Listeners

Maintenance Phase by Aubrey Gordon & Michael Hobbes

Maintenance Phase

16,439 Listeners

Cancel Me, Daddy by Katelyn Burns, Christine Grimaldi, Flytrap Media

Cancel Me, Daddy

363 Listeners

Kill James Bond! by November, Abigail, and Devon

Kill James Bond!

404 Listeners

If Books Could Kill by Michael Hobbes & Peter Shamshiri

If Books Could Kill

8,874 Listeners

A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein by Matt Bernstein

A Bit Fruity with Matt Bernstein

2,171 Listeners

In Bed With The Right by Adrian Daub and Moira Donegan

In Bed With The Right

391 Listeners

Sixteenth Minute (of Fame) by Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts

Sixteenth Minute (of Fame)

800 Listeners