Instances of misconduct

Figure 7: Average response times for immediate 999 calls.

Police workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2020, Home Office, 1 February 2021. Available at: https:// www.gov.uk/ government/ statistics/ policeworkforceengland-andwales-30september2020/policeworkforceengland-andwales-30september2020 Source: ‘A new mode of protection’ - The Police Foundation and the Strategic Review of Policing.

The vast majority of police employees continuously uphold the highest standards of decency that the job demands, and the public expects. However, this is not the case for all officers. In the year ending March 2020, around 150 police officers and staff were dismissed from the service after being found guilty of gross misconduct.i Dishonesty, incivility, excessive levels of aggressiveness, or abuse of position for sexual gain are examples of such misconduct. When public trust and confidence in policing is harmed by cases of gross violations, it is critical that public confidence in the police’s integrity and professionalism be restored as soon as possible. Although it may involve only a small minority within policing, any minority is too large and even single cases of misconduct can damage police legitimacy to a significant extent.