The number of police officers dismissed and barred from police forces across England and Wales has been revealed, including 21 struck off for child sexual offences.
Figures from the College of Policing show 735 officers were banned from returning to service in the year to the end of March, compared to 593 in the previous year – an increase of 24%.
This is the equivalent of more than two officers being added to the barred list every day.
The most common reasons for the dismissals were dishonesty (126 cases), discriminatory behaviour (95), unlawful access or disclosure of information (82), inappropriate communications (81), and sexual offences or misconduct (72).
Child sexual offences were involved in 21 cases, while abuse of position for a sexual purpose was named as one or more of the reasons for 31 dismissals.
Which forces barred the most officers?
Scroll down for the full list of barred officers across all forces since 2020/21.
The Metropolitan Police had the highest number of dismissals in the last year, with 183 out of a workforce of 33,293.
The force was followed by Greater Manchester Police (43 out of 8,112 officers), Thames Valley Police (40 out of 5,000), and West Midlands Police (37 out of 7,991).
There were 146,442 full-time equivalent police officers employed across the 43 regional forces in England in Wales, according to data from March.
While most of the 735 officers added to the barred list last year were constables (640), there were two chief superintendents and one chief officer among those struck off.
Offending officers ‘quickly identified’
The College of Policing figures also show 280 members of police staff and 31 special constables were put on the list, rising from 233 and 29 respectively.
“These figures show a determined and robust effort from police forces to rid policing of officers whose behaviour falls below the high standards that we, and the public, expect from them,” assistant chief constable Tom Harding, director of operational standards at the College of Policing, said.
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ACC Harding said forces were “quickly identifying and dealing with unacceptable behaviour from officers and staff”, reassuring the public that those on the barred list will never work in policing again.
“The message is clear: our policing system is built on upholding our code of ethics, on courage, respect, and empathy and public service, and there is no place in our police service for anyone whose behaviour goes against these values,” he added.
Since its introduction in December 2017, 2,834 officers, 223 special constables, and 1,268 members of police staff have been added to the barred list.
