Police force sacked 53 over sexual misconduct

A total of 53 police officers or staff have been sacked since 2020 after sexual misconduct was proven against them, Thames Valley Police (TVP) said.

The largest non-metropolitan force in England and Wales has periodically published reports into reports of sexual misconduct within the force since April 2024.

It said since April 2020, 110 of its officers or staff have been sanctioned by the force, with measures including dismissal and final written warnings.

TVP said its reports have been designed "to improve confidence in reporting these matters".

Its latest report, published on Wednesday, shows that 13 officers or staff were given final written warnings, along with another 13 who were given a written warning.

Another 31 were told to undertake reflective practice.

TVP said 294 of its staff or officers have been accused of sexual misconduct since April 2020, including eight so far this year.

Of those, 85 were suspended from work following an allegation of sexual misconduct, 85 were placed on restricted duties and 124 had no action taken against them.

Earlier this month a panel demoted an inspector after he contacted two more junior officers on LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr.

The officer, who has not been formally named, admitted he was "reckless" and was guilty of misconduct but did not accept it amounted to gross misconduct.

The panel said: "[The officer] should have been aware that knowingly contacting junior subordinate officers on a sexual dating hook-up app was wholly inappropriate and improper and was likely to cause concern to those he messaged.

"To this end, the panel found [the officer] failed to act as a role model in line with the expectations of his rank."