New figures reveal that over a period of six months, more than 1,500 police officers were accused of violent offences against women and girls, with less than 1% being sacked. Between October 2021 and April 2022, 1,483 unique allegations were reported against 1,539 police officers, which equates to 0.7% of the workforce. Of these allegations, 1,177 related to police-perpetrated violence, including sexual harassment and assault. Over half of the cases were raised by colleagues within the force, while 45% were complaints from the public.
Almost two-thirds of the public complaints related to the use of force, 9% concerned harassing behaviour, 6% related to assault, and 5% involved abuse of position for a sexual purpose. For the conduct allegations, 48% related to discreditable conduct outside of working hours, while 19% related to sexual assault, 13% to sexual harassment, and 6% to abuse of position for a sexual purpose.
While nearly half the complaints and almost three-quarters of the conduct cases were still pending when the data was collected, 70% of conduct cases and 91% of complaint cases that were closed were thrown out. Only 13 officers and staff were sacked for misconduct, with nobody fired as a result of public complaints.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council coordinator for violence against women and girls, Maggie Blyth, stated that she wanted to see more officers investigated, disciplined, and sacked for crimes and misconduct against women and girls. The figures prompted the NPCC and College of Policing to publish an annual assessment of police performance to improve responses to violence against women and girls and tackle sexism and misogyny in the force.
The document notes that the figures may be higher in some areas, particularly for allegations of domestic abuse and inappropriate sexual behaviour, due to underreporting and recording issues. The data also revealed that over half a million reported crimes between October 2021 and April 2022 involved violence against women and girls, representing 16% of all recorded crimes, with domestic abuse being the most common form. Across the 40 police forces for which data was available, a suspect was charged in just 6% of the 428,355 cases with a recorded outcome, mainly due to problems with evidence or victims withdrawing from the case.
New statistics reveal the immense scale of violence against women and girls, and Farah Nazeer, the CEO of Women's Aid, has expressed concern over the already low levels of trust that women have in the criminal justice system. She called for the government to increase oversight of the criminal justice response to female survivors of violence and to hold police forces, crime commissioners, probation, and the courts accountable for achieving the necessary transformation.
These efforts are part of a larger initiative to combat misogyny in policing, which has been brought into the spotlight by high-profile cases such as that of David Carrick, a former police officer who was found to be a prolific sex offender, and the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer. Police leaders have requested that the Home Office strengthen current regulations, such as prohibiting those convicted or cautioned for these types of offences from policing and re-vetting anyone accused of such crimes. Chief constables are also encouraged to use accelerated misconduct hearings.
A national assessment of the threat posed by violence against women and girls will be released next month.