The outgoing chief of Merseyside Police has laid into accusations of "two-tier policing" and has demanded more investment into DEI ahead of her retirement.
Speaking before she steps down at the end of the month, Serena Kennedy slated claims of a two-tier policing system as "absolute rubbish".
Merseyside's first female Chief Constable also detailed the "horrific" abuse which she received after the Southport attacks last summer.
Ms Kennedy said: "Thousands and thousands of vile comments, questioning my ability as a chief constable, calling for my resignation, calling for me to be sacked, and my colleagues across the country, both male and female, are subject to that abuse online when they're dealing with a high-profile incident."
Ms Kennedy claimed she was proud of how the unrest last summer was dealt with by her officers
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Detailing her experiences since she became Chief Constable in April 2021, she added: "The difference is that senior females - I say senior female police officers, but also I would say senior females who in the public view - are subject to very personal abuse as well, in terms of their appearance, their sexuality, how they identify, their gender.
"That is something very different that our male colleagues don't experiences in the same way and with the same voracity and vileness."
Ms Kennedy claimed she was proud of how the unrest last summer was dealt with by her officers, rejecting claims of two-tier policing.
Sergeant Gregory Gillespie, Constable Luke Holden and PCSO Timothy Parry from her force all went on to win the National Police Bravery Award for confronting Axel Rudakubana after his vile attack.
She added: "We are absolutely clear and robust around if people break the law, we will take positive action."
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Unrest broke out in Southport and across Britain last year after Axel Rudakubana's attack
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PICTURED: Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy helps rebuild a wall outside the Southport Islamic Centre Mosque
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Earlier this year, Ms Kennedy told MPs on the Home Affairs Select Committee that she had wanted to share information regarding Rudakubana's religion at the time he was charged - but local Crown Prosecutors told her not to.
The Select Committee went on to back the release of certain details about suspects "in the interests of public safety".
Ms Kennedy, meanwhile, was involved in the decision in May to release information about the suspect involved in the Liverpool FC victory parade crash.
She said: "I think it would have damaged the trust and confidence in Merseyside, and indeed nationally, if we had not confirmed that he was a white British male, locally born."
She added that she welcomed guidance which has been released by the National Police Chiefs' Council and the College of Policing regarding sharing the ethnicity and nationality of suspects with the public.
The chief constable also said that misogyny is getting worse
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Ms Kennedy said: "If the criteria is met, then police have to be open, honest and transparent with our communities, and we have to prepare for the impact of releasing that information, whatever that may be, whether that is protest or whether that's disorder, and be in no doubt - there is an absolute difference between the two."
The chief constable also said that misogyny is getting worse, and claimed a focus on diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) is desperately needed to combat it.
She said: "There's lots of people talking about now that we shouldn't focus on that work, because everybody should get the same level of service.
"I agree with that utopia. Everybody should get the same level of service, and I shouldn't experience the misogyny that I've experienced over the past two years as chief constable, but the reality is not everybody gets the same level of service, and it is worse if you have a protected characteristic.
"We therefore do have to invest additional money and additional services until everybody can be guaranteed that same level of service."
Ms Kennedy's successor, Rob Carden, will begin the role on September 1.