Select a region
Police have received additional training after two officers were accused of sexual offences on their own premises in recent years, Express can reveal.
One of the offences was alleged to have occurred last year, and the other in 2021.
The complaints came to light following a request for information made by Express under the Freedom of Information Law.
Neither case went any further because there was not deemed to be "sufficient evidence to conduct a criminal enquiry", the response said.
It further confirmed that: "Neither of these officers are still serving."
Asked whether any measures had been taken following the 2021 and 2023 complaints, the spokesperson confirmed that all staff had been "specifically refreshed and retrained on understanding and identifying sexual harassment in the workplace, through mandatory training packages".
Elements of the specialist training have included sessions to educate staff on the dangers of abusing their position for sexual purposes both within the force and in their interactions with the public.
"Training has been delivered to staff in relation to AoPSP (abuse of position for a sexual purpose) in line with national learning packages on acceptable behaviours of staff both internally and externally towards others," the spokesperson added.
Police are now also working on encouraging colleagues to report inappropriate behaviour to create a culture of accountability.
"A policy in relation to 'doing the right thing' has been introduced, encouraging a 'call it out culture' if behaviours of colleagues are suspected of being below the expected high standards.
"Policies in relation to sexual harassment and appropriate personal relationships within the workplace are also in progress."
On the topic of site security, the spokesperson said: "The security of the premises remains as it has been since 2017 with CCTV in place and strict door access systems controlling movement around the premises both externally and internally."
A previous request for information under the FOI Law by Express last year shed light on the number of police disciplinary matters.
It revealed that there were 56 investigations into discipline breaches.
Pictured: The number of investigations over the past five years (HP stands for those relating to Honorary Police).
The numbers represented a decrease from 64 investigations in 2022 and 84 in 2020 – but aligned with the 2021 figure of 55.
DIGEST: The number of investigations into police standards
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.