Half of police officers facing gross misconduct investigations in the past two years resigned or retired before their cases were heard, figures show.

Of the 833 officers added to the “disapproved register” by forces in England and Wales in its first two years, 416 left before their cases were resolved, the College of Policing said.

Of the 369 who left in the year between December 2014 and November 2015, 202 were dismissed, 147 resigned and 20 retired, while in the 12 months from December 2013, 215 were dismissed, 219 resigned and 30 retired.

The government introduced a bar on officers from leaving the force before misconduct investigations in an amendment to police regulations which came into effect in January 2015. However, this did not apply to ongoing investigations.



Among the officers who left before their hearings were 34 accused of having a relationship with a vulnerable person, 11 who faced allegations of sexual misconduct towards colleagues and 30 accused of domestic abuse.

Of the reasons for leaving the service over the two years, through dismissal, retiring or resigning, the highest number – 107 – did so because of a failure to perform their duty, followed by data misuse, at 89, and giving false evidence, at 74.

In 2014-15, eight officers were dismissed and three resigned while under investigation over child sex offences, taking the total for the 24-month period to 16.

The figures for officers added to the register have been broken down by force for the first time, with the highest number, 148, leaving the Metropolitan police, the country’s largest force, followed by the Ministry of Defence police at 56 and Essex police at 41.

The figures were also broken down by rank and showed the number of police constables who left due to misconduct was 697, while there were 92 sergeants, 39 inspectors, nine chief inspectors, three superintendents and three chief superintendents.

All 43 forces in England and Wales, along with British Transport police and the Ministry of Defence police, voluntarily contribute to the disapproved register.

The majority of those who were placed on the register were reported by colleagues, with internal complaints the source of 91% of cases in 2013-14 and 84% in 2014-15.



The register was introduced to prevent officers from re-entering the service after being dismissed for misconduct or resigning or retiring while subject to a gross misconduct investigation where there would have been a case to answer.

College of Policing standards manager, Det Supt Ray Marley, said: “There is a misconception that police do not report wrongdoing by their colleagues and this is clear evidence that they are confronting unacceptable behaviour and using formal misconduct mechanisms to hold their colleagues to account.

“The number of officers on the register represents a tiny percentage of the overall workforce which shows the level of misconduct across the service is low. However, the police are not complacent and will continue to report colleagues they believe have been involved in wrongdoing.

“The police have more than 6m interactions a year with the public and confidence is rising. This is reflected by the Office for National Statistics which showed the proportion of adults who feel local police are doing a good or excellent job in 2013-14 was 63%, compared to a positive rating 10 years previously of 47%.”