A Detective Superintendent serving with the UK’s largest police force police who allegedly used the the phrase “whiter than white” during a briefing could be sacked for alleged racism.
The senior police officer, who denies any wrongdoing, has now been placed on restrictive duties pending an investigation.
In a case that appears to defy any notion of common sense, the detective superintendent allegedly used the age-old phrase during a briefing to colleagues about maintaining the highest standards.
Scotland Yard ended up receiving a complaint from an unknown party about what many will see as a completely harmless comment and the ‘incident’ was referred to the watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
As if the police did not already have enough to worry about, without now losing a senior cop whilst an ‘investigation’ is made into ‘incident’.
To think that someone has taken it upon themselves to report this officer for using a phrase that is in the English Dictionary will incense not only serving officers, but members of the public as well.
According to the English Dictionary, the phrase means: ‘morally beyond reproach – “they expect standards of behaviour whiter than white”.
The common synonyms are also: virtuous, moral, ethical, good, righteous, angelic, saintly, pious, honorable, reputable, wholesome, clean, honest, upright, upstanding, exemplary, beyond above reproach, irreproachable, innocent.
Does this also mean that we cannot use the phrase: ‘thats a bit of a grey area’ just in case we offend anyone who has grey hair!? It is utterly ridiculous.
The ‘whiter than white’ phrase itself dates back to a William Shakespeare poem in 1593:
‘Who sees his true-love in her naked bed’
‘Teaching the sheets a whiter hue than white,
‘But, when his glutton eye so full hath fed,
‘His other agents aim at like delight?
‘Who is so faint, that dare not be so bold
‘To touch the fire, the weather being cold
So does this mean that had the cop used any of these words during the briefing then he would have been subjected to an investigation? Of course he would not!
Unless common sense prevails, the senior detective could now face an internal investigation for gross misconduct.
A Police source told The Express: “There was no bad intent in this comment, it may have been a poor use of language, but this is not what the misconduct process is for.
“There should be informal ways of dealing with this, particularly at a time when we are so short of experienced officers.”
Many people will be shocked that the Detective himself is based in the Directorate of Professional Standards – the body responsible within the police for investigation allegations of alleged malpractice.
But surely the fact that he is now being investigated is a massive own goal for the unit as it is seen to investigate one of its own officers for using a phrase that has been a part of the English language for a considerable time.
An article in the Express also reported that a spokesman for the Plain English Campaign said: “As the phrase means ‘morally beyond reproach’ and is used in that context with that intent, it seems fairly ludicrous that the officer in question is being investigated at all, let alone for ‘gross misconduct.”
A spokesperson for the IOPC said: “I can confirm a notice of investigation has been served on an officer informing them we are investigating the alleged use of language intended to offend and that had racist undertones.
“A notice is issued to inform an officer at the earliest opportunity following an allegation. It in no way indicates that misconduct proceedings will take place.”
At a time when the police are struggling under an increased workload with fewer resources, many will question the logic of undertaking an ‘investigation’ in these circumstances.
Let us know what YOU think – should this officer be investigated for using the phrase ‘whiter than white’ or do you think that an ‘investigation’ is way over the top?
Let us know in the comments below.
Written by one of the many admins of Emergency Services Humour who is also a regular blogger in our fortnightly eMagazine ’S__ts & Giggles’ which you can sign up to by visiting our Facebook page and clicking on the ‘sign up’ button or by visiting: ShitsAndGiggles.Online
If you have a blog that you would like us to share with our readers and followers, then please feel free to contact our team of former emergency services personnel by using any of the details below.
If you have an emergency services related story, video (that you have filmed) or opinion (whether its light-hearted or serious) that you want us to share with our readers, then you can reach our team using any of the details below.
We treat all correspondence with anonymity!
Email: emergency_services_humour@outlook.com | Follow & find us on Twitter @ES_Humour | Follow & find us on Facebook @EmergencyServicesHumour
Join our WhatsApp community!
ESN is now on WhatsApp, and we want you to join our 'read only' channel.
To join, you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is click the link and press 'Join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up, and no one can send messages except the ESN team.You won't get any 'SPAM' just news stories & videos written & produced by our team of former emergency services personnel.
Joining our WhatsApp channel is a great way to help support our work and best of all, it is free!
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community, click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Before you read or leave a comment...
In an age where mainstream media often overlooks the sacrifices made by our emergency services personnel, Emergency Services News is a critical fact-based voice you can trust
While we persist in our mission, we need your help to continue. Your donation directly enables us to produce high-quality content that elevates the stories and challenges faced by the men and women who serve, stories that are often ignored elsewhere.
We deeply appreciate your support. Your contribution empowers us to keep shining a light on the remarkable, yet often overlooked, individuals who serve our communities every day. Thank you for standing with us.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
Absolute stupidity bloody left wing twat
Sounds like he’s upset one of his staff and they’ve used this to try and get rid of him or cause him unnecessary problems.
Or he’s leading an investigation into an officer, or officers, who have a connection within the Directorate of Professional Standards and needs to be removed so they can carry on as they want.
What is the world coming to. This officer should be cosigned to normal duties until it is proved that he or she acted with malice.
What absolute crap. This is taking things too far. My white washing is whiter than white.
I think the person who made the complaint should be charged with wasting police time. What a complete idiot. Having said that whoever decided to follow up the complaint should be given training in common sense.
Political Correctness gone beyond stupidity. This is absolutely ridiculous. It’s time to swing politics back to sensible, because the left/centrist lot has destroyed this country no end and it’s quickly going further down the toilet!
Maybe the member of staff should be sacked because they are obviously too dim to do a sensible and responsible job!
Madness – there are snowflakes everywhere (and I use that term intentionally). The person responsible for making the complaint has no place in a police force and those enforcing it deserve to unemployed.