In last decade, number of UK police officers facing criminal charges jumped by 590%: Report
New data sheds light on growing number of cases of serious criminality by officers
The number of police officers in England and Wales facing criminal charges has jumped by 590 per cent since 2012, new data has revealed.
According to the figures obtained by the British newspaper Observer, one in 100 officers faced criminal charges, including sexual offences, last year alone.
The newspaper report mentioned that in 2022, 1,387 police officers facing criminal charges sought help from Police Federation, the staff association for officers, for legal support.
Compared to a decade earlier, only 235 claims were made for PoliceFederation's legal support by its members.
The Police Federation of England and Wales has around 140,000 former and serving police officers as members, The organisation spends millions of pounds a year in legal fees to help defend those accused of severe misconduct or even criminality.
It is a statutory association, which means that all police officers become members by default when they join any force in England and Wales.
Several criticisms have been directed against the federation, whose motto is to “defend the indefensible”. They have blamed the organisation for acting as a “major obstacle” to dealing with racism and misogyny in the police force.
In one of the cases, a former federation chairman, John Apter, didn’t face prosecution last week after facing two sexual assault allegations.
In December 2021, Apter was suspended by the Police Federation and by Hampshire Constabulary.
The new data sheds light on the growing number of cases of serious criminality by officers.
Earlier this month, former Met officer David Carrick was jailed for life for raping, assaulting and inflicting “irretrievable destruction” on at least 12 women, reports Guardian.
In light of these events, London mayor Sadiq Khan urged Home Secretary Suella Braverman to urgently pass new laws allowing rogue officers to be axed on the spot.
Although the Home Office is said to be reviewing policing’s dismissal processes following the failure to remove Carrick as a serving officer, Khan expressed his frustration over the current laws being ineffective to weed out dishonest police officers.
(With inputs from agencies)
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