No action taken in nine in 10 allegations made against Derbyshire police officers

Police behaviour and misconduct processes have fallen under the spotlight once again after it emerged that serving Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick – who admitted to a string of sexual offences and rapes spanning two decades – faced no misconduct action or criminal sanctions despite coming to the attention of the force on several occasions.

Home Office figures show 1,426 misconduct allegations were made against Derbyshire Constabulary officers and handled under the formal complaints process in the year to April 2022. Of these, 1,268 (89%) resulted in no action being required against the police officers involved.

A further one was referred to the reflective practice review process – when an officer’s behaviour falls short of expectations but does not amount to misconduct.

The figures cover the total number of allegations rather than the number of complaints – one complaint could contain several allegations of misconduct. They do not cover any complaints handled outside the formal process, where it was felt a detailed enquiry was not needed.

Across England and Wales, 87,786 allegations were made against police officers and handled under the formal complaints process in 2021-22. The majority (88%) found no action was required.

Derbyshire’s 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 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 can be seen, most complaints fall outside the misconduct process – but that does not mean that no action is taken and 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 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.

“We don’t always get it right, we accept that fact, but I want it be very clear that we do take action against anyone found to have breached the high standards we set. We 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.

“The vast majority the staff and officers at Derbyshire Constabulary work hard to serve the public of Derbyshire, and cases such as those that have been seen recently send ripples across the whole of policing.

“On a personal and professional level, I am appalled that someone who has sworn to protect the public could abuse their position – and I know that officers and staff here in Derbyshire share that horror.”