14 sexual misconduct complaints made against Suffolk officers
New figures show hundreds of complaints have been made against officers in the UK.
Last updated 12th Oct 2021
New figures show 14 sexual misconduct complaints have been made against officers at Suffolk Police between 2016 and 2020.
They show that over four years those complaints were made against 14 males, one female, and three unknown.
The numbers have been put together by RADAR under the Freedom of Information Act, with at least 750 accusations made in total at 31 police forces.
The FoI asked forces in England, Wales and Scotland how many complaints of sexual assault were made against serving police officers in each of these years.
Complaints could relate to historic allegations and most, where the gender was recorded, were against male officers, the data shows.
The responses did not indicate whether any of the officers were on duty at the time of the alleged incidents.
Of the total number of cases logged by forces over the five years, at least 34 resulted in dismissals.
In at least seven cases, an officer was listed as having either resigned or been dismissed, and at least six officers would have been dismissed if they had not resigned first.
At least one officer resigned before a misconduct hearing, and in one case the officer was listed as deceased.
A spokesperson Suffolk Constabulary said: “Suffolk Constabulary take allegations of this nature very seriously given the nature of the role of those who work in the police in a trusted position.
"We have robust processes in place to deal with complaints and allegations made against officers and those in police roles. When a misconduct hearing takes place, this process is carried out by a panel made up of an independent, legally qualified chair, an independent member and a senior police officer who also provides guidance on any police-related matters.
"The chair, and the panel’s decision, is independent and based on the evidence given. Allegations involving an abuse of position for a sexual purpose, are referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for investigation.
“It should be noted that each of the allegations is individual and would require further context to fully explain the outcome. For example, such cases would include allegations which are proved to be false, but are required to be recorded on the initial information provided.
"Suffolk is relatively small in terms of officer numbers, this means the percentage of sexual misconduct cases where officers are found guilty and remain in their role may seem high but the overall numbers per year are very low compared to larger forces.”
It comes after an independent inquiry was announced by the Home Secretary Priti Patel to look into the “systematic failures” that allowed Sarah Everard’s killer, Wayne Couzens, to be employed as a police officer.
Baroness Casey of Blackstock will lead a separate review of culture and standards at the Metropolitan Police in the wake of Ms Everard’s murder.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which oversees the police complaints system, said it was down to forces to “stamp out” any abuse of police powers.
A spokesperson said: “The abuse of police powers for purposes of sexual exploitation, or violence, has a devastating impact on victims, and a serious impact on the public’s confidence in individual officers and the service in general.
“It is critical there are effective systems in place to prevent, monitor and deal swiftly with any individual who exploits that trust.
“In the context of the police service, this behaviour is a form of corruption and should be dealt with as such.
“Each case reported represents a serious betrayal of the trust and confidence that individuals should have in the police. It is behaviour which can never be justified or condoned.”