'Horrific' actions by officers have 'damaged' police, new Hampshire police chief says in bid to restore confidence

But the new police chief Scott Chilton has said trust must be restored with ‘words matching action’. He was speaking in response to the National Police Chiefs' Council and College of Policing's Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls – Policing Performance and Insights Publication.

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Data released as part of the performance assessment showed that during the period October 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022, 653 conduct cases against 672 individuals were flagged as relating to violence against women and girls by police forces in England and Wales as well as the British Transport Police (BTP).

In the same period, 524 public complaint cases against 867 individuals were recorded. In total this equates to 0.7 per cent of the police workforce employed in March 2022.

Deputy chief constable Maggie Blyth, National Police Chiefs’ Council coordinator for Violence Against Women and Girls, said: ‘Our publication reinforces the urgency and importance of our current mission to lift the stones and root abusers and corrupt individuals out of policing alongside delivering the long term, sustainable improvements to standards, vetting and misconduct processes we have promised. 

‘A range of allegations are included such as use of force, sexual comments, overbearing behaviour and sexual assault and the numbers under investigation equate to 0.7 per cent of the workforce. The vast majority of officers and staff are professional and committed but I know it is shocking to hear about any potential predators in policing and that this can further shake fragile trust. 

‘It’s important to be clear, data released is intended to be a critical baseline for assessing police performance over time. It presents a picture from over a year ago rather than today.’ 

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Chief constable Chilton, responding to the findings, said: ‘Recent horrific events involving serving police officers have damaged public trust and confidence in the police family. To restore this, our words must be matched by our actions, every single day.

‘The findings published in yesterday's Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls – Policing Performance and Insights Publication report (14 March) are shocking to hear. They are a powerful reminder that there is still a long way to go to root out those who abuse their position for their own purpose. They don’t deserve to hold the privileged position we have in society.

‘The published figures show where policing was over a year ago. We have made significant improvements in setting and maintaining standards but as the new chief constable I am clear that there is much more to do. We will not stop until those who continue to abuse their position of trust, who continue to place a dark cloud over policing, are removed from their roles and removed from our local communities.

‘In force, we have robust processes in place for people to report improper conduct, criminal allegations and concerns. We know that will likely mean further reports of police-perpetrated offences, but that also means our communities and our workforce can have confidence to report matters to us. We will see more investigations being conducted, more people that don’t belong within policing being held to account, and for them to face robust sanctions.’