A whistleblower has spoken out about what she believes is a culture of silence around reporting wrondoing in the Metropolitan Police.
Issy Vine, 31, joined the force in 2020 as a 999 call handler, seeing it as a way into policing.
Then, in April 2023, a colleague made a series of deeply offensive and racist remarks during a shift, and reportedly followed her home from work.
Vine reported him the next morning but claimed that, despite her report, she was expected to continue working alongside him for a week with no action taken.
Vine said: “It went downhill from there … I had a breakdown.
“It got to a point where I had to get my friends to check if he was still sitting there so I could go and have a break.”
The colleague was dismissed following a hearing six months later, but he was rehired within months.
Vine believes the system discourages people from coming forward and there is no safe way to report wrongdoing.
“It is not an isolated incident – my case is the least bad out of all of them.”
“I know that people after me had experienced things and said ‘well, look at Issy’s case, he got his job back – I’m not even going to bother.’
“They say they have hotlines, but once you report a concern they say they can’t keep you anonymous, then it’s just weeks and weeks of waiting whilst you’re expected to carry on as normal.”
The personal cost to Vine has been significant as well.
She later resigned, losing her financial security and sense of safety.
Vine said: “I never trusted...
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