Hundreds of officers placed on national Barred List
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Almost 400 police officers in 12 months have been placed on a national Barred List, new figures show today.
The College of Policing has released the latest annual figures for officers placed on the list following a conduct hearing between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023. The number of regular police officers (excluding members of the Special Constabulary) placed on the list was 394, compared with 299 the previous year.
The Barred List, which is publicly searchable using an officer’s name, is used by police forces and some other public bodies to ensure someone who was dismissed can no longer work in policing. This includes individuals who decide to retire or resign during an investigation.
The largest proportion of these officers were police constables (342), followed by sergeants (36). The most senior rank where an officer appears on the list is chief superintendent (2).
The reason for an officer’s dismissal is also outlined in the figures and shows there were 523 reasons recorded for the 394 dismissed officers, with several officers having committed numerous breaches.
The highest of these show 75 instances of dishonesty; 51 instances of sexual offences or misconduct; and 41 instances of discriminatory behaviour.
You can see the full data on the College of Policing website.
Chief Superintendent Andy Walker, from the College of Policing, said: “We are committed to ensuring that there is no place in policing for those whose conduct falls well below the standards that are set.
“Public trust is essential and forces across the country are committed to rooting out officers and police staff who damage that trust.
“We have strengthened vetting; set high standards in recruitment; and continue to clamp down on unacceptable conduct so that the public can have confidence in the many hard-working, dedicated officers who come to work to keep them safe.”
Separately, there were 170 police staff and 34 officers from the Special Constabulary dismissed for the same period.
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Notes to editors
- You can see the previous year's figures here.
- You can see figures going back to 2017 here. (Scroll to the bottom of the page)
- In total, 1,505 regular police officers have been added to the barred list between its introduction through legislation on 15 December 2017 and the end of this reporting period on 31 March 2023.
- The barred list legislation does not apply to individuals barred from non-Home Office forces or from other agencies, so data from the British Transport Police, the Ministry of Defence Police, the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, the States of Jersey Police and the National Crime Agency is not included in this report.