Charities have welcomed plans that will enable forces to sack ‘rogue’ officers but urge greater support for police domestic abuse survivors.
Under new proposals unveiled by the government on Thursday, police officers in England and Wales will face automatic dismissal if found guilty of gross misconduct as part of plans to overhaul the disciplinary process.
Chief constables or other senior officers will have greater powers to root out and sack rogue staff from their forces as part of reforms which will see them again preside over misconduct hearings.
Lucy Hadley, Head of Policy at Women’s Aid, told TLE: “While this is a step in the right direction, we know from working with survivors that prosecution rates for domestic abuse, and especially police-perpetuated domestic abuse, remain shockingly low.
“It is important that officers found guilty of these offences are not only dismissed from their jobs, but that the standard of investigations conducted significantly improves to ensure all police perpetrators receive just punishment and women are protected from further harm.”
Hadley added that investigations of ‘rogue’ officers must be carried outside of an officer’s force to ensure greater accountability and to minimise the risk of collusion and corruption.
She said: “Urgent reform is needed to police vetting, recruitment, misconduct and complaints systems, with the responsibility for overseeing investigations relating to police perpetrators of domestic or sexual violence being handled by a separate force.
“We continue to hear from survivors who are experiencing domestic abuse from police officers and simply feel too scared to report, or justifiably fear that it will not be investigated effectively because of the perpetrator’s connections.”
The government is looking to bring in the changes as soon as possible, with officials hoping they will be in place by next spring.
Labour’s shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said he reforms were “long overdue” while Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Alastair Carmichael said it was a “disgrace that it’s taken so long in the first place”.
The move is aimed at restoring confidence in policing following the brutal murder of Sarah Everard by serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens and the unmasking of former police constable David Carrick.
Carrick, a former armed officer in the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command was revealed as one of the country’s most prolific serial rapists admitting more than 48 rapes against 12 women over an 18-year period.
These are not the first cases to raise questions over how officers accused of misconduct are investigated.
Last year, a joint inquiry comprising the College of Policing and Independent Office for Police Conducted criticised police forces for their responses to domestic abuse claims against serving officers.
In a 135-page report, the watchdog revealed not all forces were treating cases of police perpetrated domestic abuse with the “gravity they deserve” with just 9% of allegations resulting in criminal charges.
In response, the Centre for Women’s Justice published a 12-point plan focusing specifically on what must change to effectively investigate and tackle domestic abuse perpetrated by police officers to restore trust in policing.
When Sarah’s then-partner kicked her to the ground in a fit of rage after years of physical and psychological abuse, she knew she had to escape.
Having met at work, it was when her perpetrator joined the police that she noticed the scale and severity of her abuse begin to worsen.
In one particularly vicious attack, Sarah’s abuser sunk his teeth so far into her neck it left a permanent scar on a body already covered in bruises.
“I had to start taking anti-anxiety medication because he was just always in my head. If something happened, it was my fault that he hit me and eventually I started having panic attacks,” she told TLE.
“I was always too scared to voice it myself because when prior attacks had happened he told me that nobody would believe me again, that I was crazy and that I’d lost the plot.
“I fell into a downward spiral and had to take a lot of time work as I didn’t know what was real anymore. I didn’t know who to talk to because I feared they wouldn’t believe me.
Although she had photographic evidence, the 34-year-old couldn’t bring herself to report her abuser, and it was only by a friend coming forward that an investigation was eventually launched.
“He knew all the loopholes because of his position, and I remember one of the first police officers I dealt with telling me domestic abuse is difficult to prove.
“So from the moment go, it was almost as if there was no point in trying to prove what he had done to me as it was clear even the police were going to struggle to protect me.”
Sarah, whose name has been changed, hopes the latest proposals will better protect survivors of police perpetrated domestic abuse, but warns more robust investigation of officers accused of misconduct is required.
Despite being questioned by officers and handing over photographic evidence of her injuries, the case against Sarah’s abuser was closed with no further action.
Thankfully, the single mum was eventually able to separate from her ex who continues to serve as a police officer, but this hasn’t stopped him from ramping up his abuse.
She said: “I couldn’t believe that they were taking him more seriously, despite the evidence I had. Once they declared no further action, he then put in a counter claim that I was an abuser which they took more seriously.
“Even now, he continues to harass me. After two years of separation from him, I entered a new relationship and soon started receiving intimidating, hand-written letters from him even though I’d moved house.
“If I see a police car drive past I’m always on edge, but whenever I ring the police, I feel like they’re telling me I’m crazy and so I’ve come to accept that reporting incidents to the police isn’t going to get me anywhere.
Lawyers known as legally qualified chairs (LQCs) were brought in to oversee police disciplinary panels in 2016 as part of efforts to make the system more transparent, but critics say the system is too slow and senior officers are more likely to sack those found guilty of wrongdoing.
Under the plans unveiled on Thursday, a finding of gross misconduct will automatically result in a police officer’s dismissal unless exceptional circumstances apply.
Sharron Bryan, head of partnerships and development at the National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) said: “Any attempts to hold perpetrators of domestic abuse to account should be welcomed but with the best will in the world, new laws and reforms are not going to make any difference if the person committing the crime, has not been reported.
“It is also vital that all police officers are given repeat mandatory training by independent professionals. We know there are far too many officers who still do not understand enough about domestic abuse and particularly coercive control to be able to make an informed decision on whether to arrest or not, when they are called to a domestic abuse incident.”
Independent lawyers will continue to sit on the panel to advise and maintain “rigour”, but now in a supporting role.
Hadley added: “Women must know that the police will protect them and shield them from those seeking to cause them harm, and only significant improvements to the handling of misconduct and complaints will provide this confidence.”
