Number of barred police officers rises by 50% in a year

Nearly 600 police officers were sacked and barred from returning to the job in the year to March 2024, figures show.

The number, 593, is a 50% rise on the 394 officers who were kicked out of the service in the previous 12 months, the College of Policing said.

The increase follows public concern over the culture in parts of policing, following the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens in 2021, and a then-Met police sergeant being unmasked as a serial sex offender who abused victims over nearly 20 years.

Groups of officers have also been punished for sharing deeply offensive WhatsApp messages.

The 593 officers were from a workforce of more than 147,000 across the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

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The latest figures from the College of Policing for the Police Barred List include categories for the reason for sacking, with 912 recorded in total as multiple reasons can apply to one case.

Dishonesty was the most common reason recorded, in 125 cases, while sexual offences or misconduct was recorded in 74 and discriminatory behaviour in 71, and unlawful access to or disclosure of information in 66.

Eighteen officers were sacked for being part of a discriminatory WhatsApp group, the same number for possessing indecent images of children, and 33 for abusing their position for a sexual purpose.

Most of those, some 519, who lost their jobs were constables, while 48 were sergeants; 16 inspectors; five chief inspectors; two superintendents; one chief superintendent and two chief officers.

A total of 233 police staff and 30 specials were added to the Police Barred List between April 1 2023 and March 31 2024.

The figures show that 79 of the officers and specials who were sacked were from a black or other ethnic minority (BAME) background, 12.7 percent of the total dismissed; 530 were white, and ethnicity was not recorded in the remaining 14 cases.

Workforce data shows that as of March 31 2024 eight per cent of officers in England and Wales said they are from a BAME background.

The College of Policing figures also show that of 623 officers and specials who were sacked, 491 were male, 97 were female, one preferred to self-describe and 34 preferred not to say.

By individual force, the five forces with the highest numbers of officer sackings were the Metropolitan Police, 123 out of a workforce of 34,818; Greater Manchester Police with 36 out of 8,189; West Yorkshire 30 out of 6,156; West Midlands with 29 out of 8,102; and Essex with 25 out of 3,827.

The first four forces are in the top 10 largest in England and Wales by workforce, while Essex is 26th.

The most common reasons for sacking among staff, from a total of 319 recorded, were dishonesty (45), unlawful access to or disclosure of information (37), discriminatory behaviour (31), and sexual offences or misconduct (26).

For specials, with 43 recorded, the most common included dishonesty (eight), unlawful access to or disclosure of information (five), drink driving (four), and sexual offences or misconduct (four).

Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, director of operational standards at the College of Policing, said: “It is of course, hugely disappointing to see the conduct of a number of officers falling far below the standard that we set for policing and which the public rightly expects.

“However, these figures show that we have effective, robust procedures in place to identify and deal with these officers swiftly, and to prevent them from holding future roles in within the police.

“These figures show that there is nowhere to hide for people who fail to meet the high standards set across our police forces.

“Their behaviour tarnishes policing and erodes public trust.

“The service will continue working to ensure we attract the right people into policing, ensuring that those who fail to meet these high standards have no future in policing.”

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