Survey Shows Need To Support Police Victims

A major new survey by the Police Federation of England and Wales has found deep concern among officers about how misconduct by colleagues is handled; with many describing the system as unclear, inconsistent and, in some cases, unsafe.

The survey, completed by 5,203 officers across all ranks and regions, found that more than one in five had been directly involved in a misconduct case where the subject was another officer. Witnesses outnumbered victims by three to one. Nearly half of victims said the person responsible was of the same rank, while 41% said they were more senior.

Experience of misconduct cases increased with length of service and rank, according to the survey. The responses showed that 38% of chief inspectors said they had been involved in a case, compared with 16% of constables. Officers with more than 20 years’ service were more than twice as likely to report involvement as those with fewer than five.

Despite this, fewer than half of those involved said they reported what they saw – 47% said they had reported the behaviour, while 45% had not. Reporting was higher among officers with less than five years’ service, and among women and ethnic minority officers.

Almost half of respondents said they were dissatisfied with how their force handled police on police misconduct.

The survey also highlighted gaps in knowledge. While most officers said they would want Federation support if involved in a misconduct case, more than two in five were unaware of how the Federation could help, and almost one in 10 said they did not know where to turn.

South Yorkshire Police is already “ahead of the curve” on this issue, Federation Chair Steve Kent has said.

He explained: “We make support for officers clear and we have done so for some time now. If Officer A has made a complaint about Officer B, Officer B will get the legal support that is required and appropriate, but we need to pick up Officer A as well.

“We’re actually ahead of the curve with that. We haven’t seen loads of officers come to us in this respect, but as awareness spreads, I think officers will be more confident to come forward.”