In February 2022, The Shared Data Unit (SDU) looked at the sanctions faced by police officers in misconduct hearings since the latest police watchdog was formed in 2018.
The research found that around one in two police officers had remained in their jobs despite their gross misconduct being proven since then.
Out of 118 cases where the standards breach was proven by force disciplinary panels, 55 led to the sack.
The panels were held after the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found a case to answer for gross misconduct - the most serious breach of police standards.
The IOPC strategy director said the watchdog did not "always agree" with the sanctions handed out by forces.
But the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers across England and Wales, said a written warning was an "18-month stain" on an officer's record.
Methodology
In order to obtain the national figures, we analysed the yearly outcomes report released by the IOPC.
However, the The IOPC reports did not contain details by force, so separately, the 成人快手 examined more than 800 reports into misconduct cases published on the IOPC website.
From those we narrowed the outcomes down to 244 reports where there was a misconduct or gross misconduct case to answer. We read all of these to find what sanctions were gven to officers and staff and the force they represented.
Regional analysis
Out of the 244 officers with a case to answer in our regional analysis:
- 105 (43%) faced no further action. Twenty of those had left the force before their hearings were heard, but the majority (77, or 73% of the 105) were found not guilty by a force panel.
- 87 (36%) received management action
- 40 officers (16%) were given a written warning
- 10 officers (4%) were dismissed
Cases involving persistent bullying, the use of racial slurs and deaths of members of the public were among those to see no further action taken.
Data
For this project we shared:
- An accompanying and which allowed partners to view each IOPC case published when there was a case to answer for misconduct and the subsequent outcomes
- Detailed background to the IOPC.
- Detailed analysis
- Interviews with Janet Alder and acclaimed filmmaker Ken Fero, who have both been campaigning for stricter police regulation for 30 years.
- Responses from the IOPC, the Police Federation and the Crown Prosecution Service.
Partner usage
The story featured on 成人快手 Online, 成人快手 Radio Leeds and 成人快手 Radio Sheffield. It was also discussed in debates on Radio Four's Today and Sunday Morning on 成人快手 One.
The 成人快手 Shared Data Unit makes data journalism available to the wider news industry as part of the 成人快手 Local News Partnership.
Stories written in print and online by partners based on this research included:
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Barry and District News: 12 February 2022
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The Bolton News: 11 February 2022
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The National: 12 February 2022
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Portsmouth News: 14 February 2022
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Yorkshire Post: 12 February 2022
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Yorkshire Live: 11 February 2022
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Worcester News: West Mercia Police misconduct cases according to IOPC 11 February 2022
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Wokingham Today: 11 February 2022
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Hereford Times: 11 February 2022
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The Times: 12 February 2022
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Porstmouth News: 11 February 2022
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Bournemouth Echo: 11 February 2022
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South Wales Argus: 12 February 2022
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Dorset Echo: 11 February 2022
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Manchester World: 11 February 2022
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The Basingstoke Gazette: 11 February 2022
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Suffolk News: 11 February 2022
-Cambridgeshire Live: 19 February 2022