Nearly 600 officers dismissed since April last year, latest figures show

According to the latest College of Policing barred list data, 593 regular police officers – excluding special constables – were placed on the list, up from 394 in the previous year.

While the majority of officers dismissed were police constables (519), two chief officers were added this year, said the college.

Thirty officers from the Special Constabulary were also dismissed and added to the barred list.

Dishonesty was the most common reason for dismissal (125 instances) followed by powers/policies or procedures (87) and sexual offences or misconduct (74).

In total, the college said there were 912 reasons recorded for the dismissals, with some officers having committed several breaches.

With more than 147,000 full-time equivalent officers across the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, the college said the number of dismissals since April 1, 2023, represents less than 0.5 per cent of the workforce.

Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, director of Operational Standards at the College of Policing, said: “It is of course, hugely disappointing to see the conduct of a number of officers falling far below the standard that we set for policing and which the public rightly expects.

“However, these figures show that we have effective, robust procedures in place to identify and deal with these officers swiftly, and to prevent them from holding future roles in within the police.

“These figures show that there is nowhere to hide for people who fail to meet the high standards set across our police forces. Their behaviour tarnishes policing and erodes public trust.

“The service will continue working to ensure we attract the right people into policing, ensuring that those that who fail to meet these high standards have no future in policing.”

Since its introduction in December 2017 and the end of the reporting period in March this year, a total of 2,098 officers have been added to the barred list.

The barred list 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. It is publicly searchable using an officer’s name.