Derbyshire Police receive 35 sexual misconduct complaints –  with more than 63% made by staff

The most common complaint made by staff between October 2022 to October 2023 related to sexual comments, accounting for 45% of complaints. Around 23% of complaints made internally were caused by sexual harassment, data from LegalExpert.co.uk revealed. The most serious complaints included two accusations of rape.

The most common complaints made by members of the public were sexual assault or abuse of position for sexual purpose (38% and 31%, respectively).

However, no officers were dismissed for sexual misconduct in the last year.

Deputy Chief Constable Simon Blatchly said: “Across Derbyshire, we are doing all we can to root out anyone, whether police officer or staff, who are corrupt or abusive, to ensure the public has confidence that those who are serving our communities are decent and honest.

“When we receive an allegation against a member of the force, regardless of if that person is a member of the public or an officer or staff member, then a robust process is followed to ensure that the complaint is reviewed, investigated if found to be required, and dealt with in the most appropriate manner.

“As a force we are clear that behaviour that falls below the standard that we, and the public, expect will not be tolerated and will be addressed.“We take action against anyone found to have breached the high standards we set and continue to learn from every incident, whether that be locally, regionally or nationally, and are looking for further ways to identify and tackle any unsatisfactory behaviour early before it leads to misconduct.

“We have an internal anti-corruption line, where reports can be made regarding the behaviour of others, and it is made very clear about the expectations. Professional standards start in our training school, and with a large swathe of new officers joining us, setting the boundaries that working for the police brings to make things very clear from the get-go is essential.”