# Are the police still institutionally homophobic?

An episode of [The Crime Agents](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1820933088), 21 Jan 2026, 47 min.

Audio: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/24b43d8d-d796-49ab-8101-d77a0426bb3a.mp3?aw_0_1st.showid=1366922d-44a9-4066-80a4-91e9297898df&aw_0_1st.episodeid=24b43d8d-d796-49ab-8101-d77a0426bb3a

When Stephen Port - a serial killer who murdered four gay men - was finally brought to justice, the Metropolitan Police admitted that basic mistakes in their investigations had potentially cost some of the victims their lives. In 2023, the Casey Review described policing as 'institutionally homophobic'. In this episode, Andy & Neil ask: has anything really changed? They speak to Miriam Blythe, the mother of Edward Cornes, a student who was found dead in a London hotel room aged just 19 in 2021. She describes the litany of police failings that blighted the investigation into his death, and explains why she believes that officers treated Edward differently because he was gay. Neil also describes some of the problematic, homophobic behaviour he saw from colleagues during his three decades in the police, and he and Andy discuss whether this form of discrimination can ever be stamped out of policing. Follow us on social media: @thecrimeagents

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