A record number of police officers in England and Wales were dismissed and banned from returning to the job in the year to March 31, Al Jazeera reports, citing figures released by the College of Policing on Tuesday.
A total of 593 officers were fired, representing a more than 50% increase from the previous year. This surge in dismissals comes as police forces grapple with a crisis of public trust, fueled by a string of high-profile scandals.
The dismissals include 74 officers sacked for sexual offenses and misconduct, and 18 who were fired for possessing child exploitation material. Dishonesty and discriminatory behavior were the most common causes for dismissal, accounting for 125 and 71 cases, respectively.
The rise in sackings reflects a renewed focus on accountability within police forces, particularly in the wake of the 2021 abduction and murder of Sarah Everard by serving London Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens. Last year, another Metropolitan Police officer, David Carrick, was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison for committing dozens of rapes and sexual offenses against 12 women.
Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, the director of operational standards at the College of Policing, acknowledged the “hugely disappointing” conduct of the dismissed officers. However, he stressed that the figures demonstrate the effectiveness of existing procedures in swiftly identifying and removing officers who fail to meet the high standards expected of them.
“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 within the police,” Harding said. “These figures show that there is nowhere to hide for people who fail to meet the high standards set across our police forces.”
