‘Shocking’: Police with violence and harassment convictions still serving in UK forces
P.Cops convicted of violence, harassment and assault are still serving in UK forces, despite repeated promises of a crackdown on rogue cops. Independent can reveal.
Following the latest damning inquiry into the murder of Sarah Everard by a Met Police officer, which found the review’s recommendations were still not fully implemented, new figures show at least 49 serving police officers have kept their jobs despite being convicted of crimes since 2018.
Convictions that did not result in dismissal included serious offenses such as harassment, assault by beating and dangerous driving, according to Freedom of Information figures from 27 of the 43 police forces in England and Wales.
A police officer in Cumbria who received a final written warning after carrying out a joint domestic attack in 2018 has since resigned.
Shadow policing minister Tom Vickers told Independent Former Victims Commissioner Dame Vera Baird said it was “shocking” that police chiefs “think it’s OK to send an abuser out” to intervene with victims of crime, while saying “trust has been damaged” by officers with criminal convictions remaining in duty without proper review.
Serving officers who escaped dismissal and instead received final written warnings include:
- A male Met Police officer convicted of violence against a person in 2018
- A male Greater Manchester Police (GMP) police officer convicted of common assault in 2019
- A male GMP police officer was found guilty of harassment in 2019
- A male Merseyside Police officer convicted of dangerous driving in 2020
- A male Surrey Police officer was found guilty of assaulting another man during a night out in 2018
Most of the cases come from before 2021, when police forces faced turmoil following the death of Ms Everard, who was kidnapped and murdered by Met Constable Wayne Couzens, leading to demands for standards to be tightened. But many campaigners say forces have not gone far enough to vet still-serving police officers.
Independent Police have previously revealed that sex crime convictions have increased since Ms Everard’s death.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced new laws that will impose mandatory review standards for all forces, following repeated failures to weed out rogue officers, including David Carrick, one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders, who was sentenced to 37 life sentences and was improperly examined in 2017.
Former victims commissioner Dame Vera Baird has described Cumbria Police’s decision to issue a final written warning to an officer convicted of domestic assault as “shocking”, saying officers convicted of serious offenses “obviously should not be in the force”.
He said: “Some of these incidents are quite serious and domestic violence means that someone who is themselves an abuser may go out to solicit domestic violence from women who are frightened, vulnerable and, on the contrary, seeking support.
“I found it shocking that the police hierarchy thought it was normal to send harassers to such women.”
On the contrary updated review guide Mr Vickers said there should be a “rebuttable presumption” from the Police College that a person convicted of violence or targeting vulnerable people should not be allowed to work. Independent He said more needs to be done to maintain public trust.
“The public expects police officers to be held to the highest standards, and having officers with criminal convictions remain on duty without appropriate review undermines that trust,” he said.
“While these convictions are historic, that does not mean they should be ignored. Serious crimes, including violence and domestic abuse, relate directly to an officer’s fitness to hold the power and authority of the state.”
Forces should be needed to review previous cases through vetting and fraud processes, he added. He said: “Maintaining public trust depends on consistent standards and clear accountability. Action must be taken where officers fall short of these standards.”
The National Police Chiefs’ Council declined to comment on individual cases, but said they mostly occurred some time ago and that there had been significant progress in police investigation and regulation since then. The organization said any convicted officer would undergo a new security review.
But Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned last February that police chiefs were unable to sack rogue officers after winning a legal battle after a sergeant’s review was annulled over unsubstantiated complaints about his behavior, including rape and sexual assault. The Met later appealed the decision.
New regulations in force since May have made vetting a legal requirement for all commissioned officers; Those who failed the review were automatically dismissed. The Constabulary’s guidance on misconduct hearing outcomes states that it is unacceptable for police officers responsible for enforcing the law to break the law themselves.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford, NPCC’s national lead on fraud, said: “Every case [at a misconduct hearing] It will be a matter for the relevant chief constable and each will be judged on its own merits. “But public safety and public trust and confidence must always be at the forefront of this decision-making process.”
As well as the serious offenses highlighted, data from the force showed officers avoided dismissal for a range of other offences, including putting a person in fear of violence, breaching health protection regulations and causing criminal damage.
Traffic offenses include speeding, using a mobile phone while driving and being uninsured.
The majority of police officers (44 out of 49) are men.
A Home Office spokesman said “significant reforms” had been introduced to strengthen the police misconduct system, including for serious offenses that automatically amount to gross misconduct and the dismissal of officers who fail investigation.
They added: “Further reforms next year will strengthen requirements on forces to remove police officers investigated for violent crimes against women and girls and prevent people who commit these crimes from joining the police in the first place.”
GMP said the common assault incident, which occurred while the officer was still employed, occurred before the current Chief Constable, Sir Stephen Watson, took office in 2021. Police Chief Watson said there have been 156 layoffs since his arrival, most of which he oversaw.
“GMP is committed to setting the highest standards in policing because that is what the public and the vast majority of our workforce rightly expect and deserve,” he said.
“We will not hesitate to root out wrongdoing wherever it occurs, because the greater good of the public must always come first. We are eliminating the power of those who are unfit to serve alongside the vast majority of GMP officers and staff who represent everything the public rightfully expects of them.”
The Met Police said it had tightened the rules for dismissing officers who fall below expected standards last year, adding that if an officer is not dismissed at a gross misconduct hearing, the case will automatically be reviewed.
Surrey Police said the officer convicted of assault by beating in 2018 was involved in an incident while out at night in London and that it was not a domestic matter. The officer was found to have violated standards by discreditable conduct.
He was given a community order for 60 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £250 in compensation. His last written warning has also expired.
