Former Police Officers Receive Sentencing for Offensive Messages in Private WhatsApp Group
The Crown Prosecution Service has issued a stern warning that “grossly offensive messages that amount to criminal behaviour” will be prosecuted vigorously. Following an investigation by officials from the Met’s professional standards team and a BBC Newsnight probe, six retired Metropolitan Police officers have been convicted for sending offensive and racist messages in a private WhatsApp group. They were sentenced at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, each receiving suspended sentences ranging from six to 14 weeks’ imprisonment, as well as hundreds of hours of unpaid work for offences under Section 127(1) (a) of the Communications Act 2003. The officers, who had been members of the “Old Boys Beer Meet-Wales” group chat, made racist, homophobic, and sexist exchanges. Although they were not serving officers during their participation in the group, the retired officers were all members of the Diplomatic Protection Group at some point in their careers. The group chat was quickly established for police officers to maintain contact after retirement and saw the exchange of more than 60 messages with offensive content, including references to public figures and a meme with racist content. The group’s “grossly offensive” and racist messages encompass a variety of unacceptable behaviors. The judge noted that the posts were racist and were offensive, and the six men received suspended sentences ranging from six to 14 weeks’ imprisonment in addition to hundreds of hours of unpaid work. PA Media contributed additional reporting to this story.
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