The ability of police to tackle violence against women and girls has again been cast into doubt by new figures that show only 1% of more than 1,500 police officers or staff facing complaints about their treatment of women in a six-month period were sacked.
Data from the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) shows there were 524 complaints made by members of the public against 867 officers and staff in England and Wales police forces between October 2021 and March 2022.
Out of the 290 cases resolved, 91% ended with no further action, and no officers or staff were sacked.
During the same six months a further 672 police officers or staff faced conduct allegations relating to violence against women and girls.
So far, only 13 officers and staff have been sacked as a result of those investigations.
The figures have been published following the high profile cases of police officers David Carrick and Wayne Couzens.
Carrick was jailed for life last month for dozens of offences including a series of rapes and sexual assaults.
Victims of domestic violence have told Sky News that women have lost confidence in police.
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Rachel Williams, who faced 18 years of abuse from her husband and now advocates on behalf of women experiencing domestic violence told Sky News: “People don’t feel safe reporting to police because of everything that’s happened over the last couple of years.
“I’ve had these cases coming to me. People asking what is the point in disclosing what has happened to them. They ask themselves. Am I disclosing to a decent police officer or am I disclosing to a perpetrator?”
“I think the top priority is for government to actually listen to those that have experienced it and been through it,” she adds.
The data from the NPCC shows that complaints against police officers related to various allegations including sexual harassment, discreditable conduct not in the execution of their duty, and sexual assault.
Sky News was given access to a new domestic abuse resolution team set up by Leicestershire police last September to try to encourage more victims to come forward.
Image: Leicestershire police abuse resolution team members
Working alongside a sexual assault referral centre in the city, officers hope to increase rates of conviction of perpetrators.
Detective Superintendent Chris Baker is the Leicestershire police lead for tackling violence against women and girls.
He says there are officers in his force currently under investigation but says “we are dealing with them in a robust way through police regulations and the criminal courts”.
Image: DI Chris Baker
He has been inviting female police officers and staff to share their experiences of the workplace.
“Whether they’ve experienced any kind of harassment, misogyny or sexism, that will be rooted out because there’s absolutely no place in policing for those sorts of attitudes towards women and girls,” he says.
“A really important part of what we do is to bring people to justice because by doing that we safeguard victims.”
Police Sergeant Michelle Goddard has been tasked with tackling the language used by officers when responding to domestic violence calls.
Image: Sergeant Michelle Goddard
“It’s about acknowledging that using victim blaming or minimising language is absolutely not acceptable but also that it creates a barrier that prevents people from feeling that we are the right people to deal with their complaint,” she told Sky News.
“It prevents them from feeling safe with us and it can create a barrier that prevents them from being able to report at all.”
Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth, NPCC co-ordinator for violence against women and girls told Sky News: “We recognise that the trust of women and girls across the country is really, really broken.
“To try and rebuild that trust the data that we’re putting out today is indicative of our accountability to women and girls.
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‘It was petrifying’ – officer’s ex-wife
“We want to show that we are indeed shining that light, that we will continue to do so and that we will do all we can to remove people who shouldn’t be working within policing.
“We will do all that we can with other parts of the system to improve the criminal justice response for women and girls who come forward. It’s harrowing to report a domestic abuse or a rape crime. It’s harrowing. We need to make sure that the outcomes for women and girls improve.”
The first thing you notice when immigration officers stop a possible illegal moped delivery driver is the speed in which the suspect quickly taps on their mobile.
“We’re in their WhatsApp groups – they’ll be telling thousands now that we’re here… so our cover is blown,” the lead immigration officer tells me.
“It’s like a constant game of cat and mouse.”
Twelve Immigration Enforcement officers, part of the Home Office, are joining colleagues from Avon and Somerset Police in a crackdown on road offences and migrants working illegally.
The West of England and Wales has seen the highest number of arrests over the last year for illegal workers outside of London.
“It is a problem… we’re tackling it,” Murad Mohammed, from Immigration Enforcement, says. He covers all the devolved nations.
“This is just one of the operations going on around the country, every day of the week, every month of the year.”
Image: Murad Mohammed, from Immigration Enforcement, says his team are attempting to tackle the issue
Just outside the Cabot Circus shopping complex, we stop a young Albanian man who arrived in the UK on the back of a truck.
He’s on an expensive and fast-looking e-bike, with a new-looking Just Eat delivery bag.
He says he just uses it for “groceries” – but the officer isn’t buying it. He’s arrested, but then bailed instantly.
We don’t know the specifics of his case, but one officer tells me this suspected offence won’t count against his asylum claim.
Such is the scale of the problem – the backlog, loopholes and the complexity of cases – that trying to keep on top of it feels impossible.
This is one of many raids happening across the UK as part of what the government says is a “blitz” targeting illegal working hotspots.
Angela Eagle, the border security and asylum minister, joins the team for an hour at one of Bristol’sretail parks, scattered with fast food chains and, therefore, delivery bikes.
Image: Border security and asylum minister, Angela Eagle, speaks to Sky News
She says arrests for illegal working are up over the last year by 51% from the year before, to more than 7,000.
“If we find you working, you can lose access to the hotel or the support you have [been] given under false pretences,” she said.
“We are cracking down on that abuse, and we intend to keep doing so.”
There are reports that asylum seekers can rent legitimate delivery-driver accounts within hours of arriving in the country – skipping employment legality checks.
Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat all told Sky News they’re continuing to strengthen the technology they use to remove anyone working illegally.
But a new Border Security Bill, working its way through Parliament, could see companies fined £60,000 for each illegal worker discovered, director disqualifications and potential prison sentences of up to five years.
“I had them all in to see me last week and I told them in no uncertain terms that we take a very tough line on this kind of abuse and they’ve got to change their systems so they can drive it out and off their platforms,” the minister tells me.
For some of those who arrive, a bike and a phone provide a way to repay debts to gang masters.
There were eight arrests today in Bristol, one or two taken into custody, but it was 12 hours of hard work by a dozen immigration officers and the support of the police.
As two mopeds are pushed onto a low-loader, you can’t help but feel, despite the best intentions, that at the moment, this is a losing battle.
We see the boat from a distance – the orange of the life jackets reflected in the rising sun.
And as we draw closer, we can make out dozens of people crowded on board as it sets off from the shore, from a beach near Dunkirk.
There is no sign of any police activity on the shore, and there are no police vessels in the water.
Instead, the migrants crammed into an inflatable dinghy are being watched by us, on board a private boat, and the looming figure of the Minck, a French search and rescue ship that soon arrives.
Image: Minck, a French search and rescue ship, shadows the boat
The dinghy meanders. It’s not heading towards Britain but rather hugging the coast.
A few of the passengers wave at us cheerfully, but then the boat starts to head back towards the shore.
Image: Sky’s Adam Parsons at the scene
As it nears a different beach, we see a police vehicle – a dune buggy – heading down to meet it.
Normal practice is for French police officers to slice through the material of any of these small boats that end up back on shore.
Two police officers get out of the buggy and wait. A police helicopter arrives and circles above, performing a tight circle over the heads of the migrants.
The police think they might be about to go back on to the beach; in fact, these passengers know that most of them are staying put.
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The boat stops a short distance from the shore and four people jump out. As they wade towards the beach, the boat turns and starts to head back out to sea.
We see the two police officers approach these four men and have a brief conversation.
They don’t appear to check the bags they are carrying and, if they do question them about why they left the boat, it is the most cursory of conversations.
In reality, these people probably don’t speak French but they were almost certainly involved in arranging this crossing, which is against the law. But all four walk away, disappearing into the dunes at the back of the beach.
The first thing you notice when immigration officers stop a possible illegal moped delivery driver is the speed in which the suspect quickly taps on their mobile.
“We’re in their WhatsApp groups – they’ll be telling thousands now that we’re here… so our cover is blown,” the lead immigration officer tells me.
“It’s like a constant game of cat and mouse.”
Twelve Immigration Enforcement officers, part of the Home Office, are joining colleagues from Avon and Somerset Police in a crackdown on road offences and migrants working illegally.
The West of England and Wales has seen the highest number of arrests over the last year for illegal workers outside of London.
“It is a problem… we’re tackling it,” Murad Mohammed, from Immigration Enforcement, says. He covers all the devolved nations.
“This is just one of the operations going on around the country, every day of the week, every month of the year.”
Image: Murad Mohammed, from Immigration Enforcement, says his team are attempting to tackle the issue
Just outside the Cabot Circus shopping complex, we stop a young Albanian man who arrived in the UK on the back of a truck.
He’s on an expensive and fast-looking e-bike, with a new-looking Just Eat delivery bag.
He says he just uses it for “groceries” – but the officer isn’t buying it. He’s arrested, but then bailed instantly.
We don’t know the specifics of his case, but one officer tells me this suspected offence won’t count against his asylum claim.
Such is the scale of the problem – the backlog, loopholes and the complexity of cases – that trying to keep on top of it feels impossible.
This is one of many raids happening across the UK as part of what the government says is a “blitz” targeting illegal working hotspots.
Angela Eagle, the border security and asylum minister, joins the team for an hour at one of Bristol’sretail parks, scattered with fast food chains and, therefore, delivery bikes.
Image: Border security and asylum minister, Angela Eagle, speaks to Sky News
She says arrests for illegal working are up over the last year by 51% from the year before, to more than 7,000.
“If we find you working, you can lose access to the hotel or the support you have [been] given under false pretences,” she said.
“We are cracking down on that abuse, and we intend to keep doing so.”
There are reports that asylum seekers can rent legitimate delivery-driver accounts within hours of arriving in the country – skipping employment legality checks.
Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and Just Eat all told Sky News they’re continuing to strengthen the technology they use to remove anyone working illegally.
But a new Border Security Bill, working its way through Parliament, could see companies fined £60,000 for each illegal worker discovered, director disqualifications and potential prison sentences of up to five years.
“I had them all in to see me last week and I told them in no uncertain terms that we take a very tough line on this kind of abuse and they’ve got to change their systems so they can drive it out and off their platforms,” the minister tells me.
For some of those who arrive, a bike and a phone provide a way to repay debts to gang masters.
There were eight arrests today in Bristol, one or two taken into custody, but it was 12 hours of hard work by a dozen immigration officers and the support of the police.
As two mopeds are pushed onto a low-loader, you can’t help but feel, despite the best intentions, that at the moment, this is a losing battle.