West Yorkshire Police officers dismissed over offensive WhatsApp messages

The panel, chaired by an independent legally-qualified chair, found that all five serving officers should be dismissed and that the three officers who resigned while under investigation would have been dismissed if still serving.

The IOPC received a referral from the force in November 2021, after a number of officers raised concerns about the behaviour of a group of officers based in Pudsey, Leeds.

While the investigation focused on the conduct of 12 officers involved in a WhatsApp conversation, some of the people it spoke to raised wider concerns about “bullying behaviour” within the team.

The IOPC investigation concluded in November 2022 and all 12 officers faced disciplinary proceedings. Eight had a case to answer for gross misconduct and at a hearing that concluded on Friday (December 20), the disciplinary panel found a total of 67 allegations proven at the level of gross misconduct, a further 38 proven at the level of misconduct and 20 allegations were found not proven.

All eight will now be added to the College of Policing’s Barred List.

The officers are:

PC Luke Riddett – 26 findings of gross misconduct and 12 findings of misconduct.

Ex-PC Tom Harrison – Ten findings of gross misconduct and four findings of misconduct.

PC X (who is subject of an anonymity order) – eight findings of gross misconduct and three findings of misconduct.

PS Mark Otter – seven findings of gross misconduct and one finding of misconduct.

PC Javaid Habeeb – five findings of gross misconduct and ten findings of misconduct.

Ex-PC Matthew Harrison – five findings of gross misconduct and five findings of misconduct.

PC Dominique Hawkins – four findings of gross misconduct and two findings of misconduct.

Ex-PC Lee Hillyard – two findings of gross misconduct and one finding of misconduct.

Four officers had a case to answer for misconduct and, following separate proceedings earlier this year, one received a final written warning, two received written warnings, and one was required to undergo reflective practice.

IOPC Regional Director Emily Barry said: “The disgraceful behaviour and attitudes we found in these messages are totally unacceptable and have no place in policing. Our investigation has ensured those responsible have received serious sanctions – and that the worst offenders will never again wear the uniform.

“But this case is also a welcome sign of the shifting attitudes within policing to this kind of ‘canteen culture’. I am grateful to those officers who did the right thing by speaking up and exposing the toxicity within their own ranks.

“This is not always easy to do. But calling out poor behaviour needs to become the norm – and that can only happen where colleagues know their concerns will be taken seriously and action taken.

“We know behaviour like this still exists within policing but it is this kind of decisive response from WYP, referring the case for independent scrutiny and acting to address the concerns raised, that sends a clear message about its stance on the issue.”

During the investigation, the IOPC reviewed more than 3,000 messages shared on the WhatsApp group between August 2020 and November 2021. These included:

PC Luke Riddett shared a photograph of a bearded Asian detainee with the caption “if you had to draw a terrorist…”

PC Tom Harrison made a comment considered offensive to the travelling community, in which he suggested he would “make a good pikey”. He followed this up with a reference to stealing cars “in my spare time”.

PC Dominique Hawkins posted an image from the scene of a sudden death, after the body had been removed, to which another officer responded: “Delicious”.

One officer posted about a woman “on a bridge”, adding “jump jump jump jump”. He separately posted about the same woman, describing her as “feral” and “covered in blood from smashing her head off my boot”.

PC Riddett made a number of inappropriate, sexualised comments about female colleagues.

“We interviewed 11 of the 12 officers under investigation and spoke with around 20 other officers and staff,” the IOPC said. “Some officers told us the use of WhatsApp, while against force policy, was encouraged by some sergeants. They told us their WYP-issued devices made it difficult to share information – such as details of missing people – quickly, and WhatsApp provided a solution to this.

“Several officers told us they used ‘dark humour’ as a way to deal with difficult situations. Some said this was actively encouraged during their initial training.

“Following the investigation, we shared several areas of potential learning with WYP. In response, the force told us it was rolling out new handheld devices to officers, which would include an alternative app allowing officers to share messages instantly among teams, without needing to use their personal devices.

“We understand the force has since taken steps to address the issues identified including reviewing training and policies around social media use, with a focus on workplace behaviour and culture.”

Detective Chief Superintendent Tanya Wilkins, head of WYP’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “This misconduct hearing looked not only at the actions of this group but also their inaction. The lack of challenge and complicity of a supervisor being involved in these conversations has allowed a culture of routine misogyny, casual racism and bullying to develop within this team.

“We make clear to all employees of West Yorkshire Police the standards we expect of them both on and off duty and have a specific policy in place around the use of social media, which includes WhatsApp. The messages that were looked at as part of this investigation were mean-spirited and not representative of the inclusive culture we seek to foster in West Yorkshire Police.

“Frontline policing can be extremely hard, and this is well recognised. West Yorkshire Police has a variety of services available internally, including peer support, counselling, chaplaincy support and TRiM (Trauma Risk Management) for those affected by a traumatic event, incident or situation.

“We understand that there still remains a place for more informal support between colleagues, but a social media platform is not the appropriate place to discuss and share information about sensitive operational matters. Supporting colleagues can also not be used as an excuse for the use of racist and misogynistic language, which have no place in policing.

“In addition to the action taken against the officers subject to this misconduct hearing, we will also be using this as a reminder to all officers, staff and volunteers working for West Yorkshire Police of the appropriate use of social media and encouraging reporting of any potential concerns about colleagues’ conduct.

“Any members of the public with information about any potential misconduct or criminal behaviour by any police employee are also encouraged to report it, either to the police directly or to independent charity Crimestoppers.”

The IOPC has previously raised concerns about the use of social media, particularly WhatsApp, within policing. In April 2021, it wrote to the National Police Chiefs’ Council about the issue. This followed a number of IOPC investigations that had identified officers were misusing social media.

In September 2021, two former Metropolitan Police Service officers who sent misogynistic and discriminatory text messages were barred from working in policing, following an IOPC investigation. In January 2022, the IOPC published learning from that case – and several other linked investigations arising from concerns about officers based in Charing Cross.