Sharp Rise in Police Disciplined for Abusing Powers for Sex

The number of UK police officers and staff investigated for exploiting their position for sex has risen sharply, according to new data released by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). 

In the last three years, 66 officers and police staff faced disciplinary proceedings after being investigated for alleged abuse of position for a sexual purpose, also known as APSP. Forty-two of these were in the last year alone. Out of these 66 cases, misconduct was proven for 63.

Fifty-two individuals were found guilty of gross misconduct, according to the IOPC. Of these, 73 per cent – 38 people – are no longer serving as officers and were barred from working for the police again. 

During this time, only seven individuals were also prosecuted for criminal offences, leading to six convictions and three people receiving a custodial sentence. Sentences were given for  “unauthorised access to computer material,” and “unlawfully obtaining personal data,” among other offences. 

The rise comes after a concerted effort to clamp down on the corruption by the IOPC. 

Deputy director general of the IOPC Claire Bassett said: “This kind of behaviour is an appalling abuse of the public’s trust and has a devastating impact on the people involved, who are often in a vulnerable situation. The police are there to help them, not exploit them.”

“We are seeing how our work is helping tackle the problem – corrupt officers have been dismissed and convicted,” she said. “We have also made a number of recommendations to help police forces spot and tackle this behaviour.”

Bassett said many cases involved “actions that may seem harmless at first” such as messages sent from an officer’s personal phone or “kisses at the end of a text message” which can escalate. 

The steep rise in officers investigated for this abuse of power is partly due to many forces not treating complaints about APSP seriously, leading to a change in referral criteria in 2017. In 2016, for example, only 72 officers were referred to the IOPC for this corruption, only 10 of which were investigated. In 2020, 131 people were referred, 70 of which were investigated. 

Officers or police staff using their authority for sexual purposes is now the biggest form of corruption reported to the IOPC, accounting for around a quarter of all referrals to the IOPC. 

The data comes during a time of intense scrutiny of police behaviour, after Wayne Couzens, was convicted for the rape and murder of Sarah Everard this year. Couzens was a serving police officer when he kidnapped Everard in May after she was walking home from a friend’s house, using his police ID to coerce her into his vehicle. 

Debbie Summers from campaign group Sisters Uncut said, “The 63 police officers found to have recently abused their powers for sexual gain prove that violence and coercion are deeply entrenched within the police force. We have no doubt there are even more cases yet to be uncovered, and that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“With 42 of these incidents taking place this year, it's clear this violence is institutional, committed by people who are emboldened, and unafraid. As a society, we do not have to stand by and watch this happen. It is up to all of us to keep the police in check, make their new powers ungovernable, and keep each other safe.”

Sisters Uncut is running “CopWatch” training which includes, “how to intervene when you see a stop and search, basic know your rights, and how to support those most targeted by racist and sexist police.”

Kevin Blowe, campaign coordinator for the Network for Police Monitoring (Netpol), told VICE World News: "Abuses of power happen within a culture of impunity by police officers who believe they can get away with sexual violence or racism because others will close ranks and look the other away.”

“The figures are alarming, particularly for the last year. However, so many women sharing their stories in the weeks since the conviction of Wayne Couzens does raise the question: how many more abuses like this are never reported, never properly investigated and never led to disciplinary action because colleagues kept quiet? And why, when officers are supposedly accountable personally for every decision they make to use their extensive legal powers, are there so few prosecutions?"