North Yorkshire Police reveal how many of its officers have been accused of violence against women
North Yorkshire Police has revealed how many officers are facing allegations of violence against women and girls.
It follows the publication today (Tuesday) by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and College of Policing of national figures for police perpetrated violence against women and girls.
The figures released are for the period 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.
For North Yorkshire, there were a total of five complaint/conduct cases for the time period, including a total of 11 allegations against five individuals.
‘Police perpetrated’ means carried out by a member of a police service.
A national threat assessment of the scale of violence against women and girls will be made next month.
The moves are part of efforts to tackle misogyny in policing after scandals including the murder of York woman Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens and PC David Carrick being unmasked as a prolific sex offender.
Complaint and conduct cases – North Yorkshire Police
| Total number of… | Force total |
|---|---|
| VAWG complaint cases | 1 |
| VAWG conduct cases | 4 |
| VAWG cases | 5 |
| VAWG complaint allegations | 2 |
| VAWG conduct allegations | 9 |
| VAWG allegations (complaint and conduct) | 11 |
| unique subjects of PP VAWG complaint allegations | 1 |
| unique subjects of PP VAWG conduct allegations | 4 |
| subjects of allegations (complaint and conduct) | 5 |
PP = police perpetrated
Between 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022
For key definitions, see below
North Yorkshire Police’s Deputy Chief Constable Mabs Hussain said: “Our job is to protect people from violence and bring perpetrators to justice.
“We cannot possibly have, and do not want, anyone in our ranks that is a perpetrator of this behaviour.
“And I know I speak for the vast majority of the dedicated officers and staff of North Yorkshire Police who are equally concerned about such behaviour among their colleagues. It is vital that our communities have the utmost trust in the people tasked with protecting them.
“The fact that four out of the five cases highlighted have been uncovered through internal processes, and just one reported by a member of the public, should give an amount of reassurance that our internal processes are effective and underpin our belief that the majority of our workforce act with integrity and recognise unacceptable behaviour when it occurs.
“However, we are not complacent and know that more needs to be done to deal with these unacceptable behaviours and to ensure that we deserve the trust of the public. Five cases are five too many.
“We have taken a number of measures to improve our already robust vetting process to root out those people who are not fit to serve.”
He said the force has recently led a national pilot scheme that checks all vetted staff against the Police National Database (PND) every month. This process was implemented to ensure that any police contact outside of North Yorkshire is brought to the attention of our Vetting Unit and Professional Standards Department.
This scheme was recently highlighted by Government inspectors who recommended that all forces make use of the PND. It is now a national requirement for all forces to implement this scheme.
“We are also one of the few forces that handle complaints independently through the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s office to provide an additional level of scrutiny,” Dep Ch Con Hussain said.
“The vast majority of our officers and staff are honest, hardworking and act with integrity. However, when misconduct is found, we will take action. We encourage anyone who has any concerns about the behaviour of an officer or staff member they have come into contact with, to please report it to us.”