WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO
February 07 2025
WE ARE A MAGAZINE ABOUT LAW AND JUSTICE | AND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO

New data shows dramatic rise in police misconduct and criminal activity by officers

New data shows dramatic rise in police misconduct and criminal activity by officers

Pic by Matt Preston (Flickr, creative comms)

Misconduct by police officers in England and Wales has increased by almost a third since last year, with the Home Office recording 31% more incidents in the year ending in March 2024.

A total of 1,698 individuals, including police officers and civilian staff, were referred to formal misconduct proceedings according to data released this week. 1,312 of the individuals were police officers, with reasons for the misconduct hearings including complaints made by the public, internal conduct matters, and what are known as ‘recordable incidents’. The latter includes conduct which appears to have resulted in death or serious injury, serious assaults, sexual offences and corruption.

This new data also shows a 42% increase in criminal proceedings against police officers, with 227 proceedings against 133 officers. Where the verdict is known, 70% of cases resulted in the officer being found, or pleading guilty.

Alongside this data the government has indicated potential reasons for the dramatic increase in misconduct cases, including an uplift in the number of serving police officers, and an increased willingness among the public to allege misconduct in the wake of the Angiolini Inquiry and Baroness Casey report. They also stated that these factors have changed how police deal with misconduct matters.

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