No action taken in nine in 10 allegations against Hertfordshire Constabulary officers

Nine in 10 formal allegations against Hertfordshire Constabulary officers resulted in no misconduct action last year, new figures show.

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 1,972 misconduct allegations were made against Hertfordshire Constabulary officers and handled under the formal complaints process in the year to April 2022. Of these, 1,758 (89%) resulted in no action being required against the police officers involved.

Just 12 allegations were referred to official misconduct proceedings and 77 were 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.

David Carrick pleaded guilty to 49 offences against at least a dozen women – including 24 counts of rape – over an 18-year period. He was only suspended in October 2021 after being arrested over a second rape complaint.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said in reaction to Carrick's case that there is no place in police forces for officers who “who fall so seriously short" of the acceptable standards of behaviour.

“Police forces must root out these officers to restore the public’s trust, which has been shattered by high-profile events such as this," they added.

The Home Office figures show there were 94 allegations of "conduct matter" offences against Hertfordshire Constabulary officers in 2021-22 – those which are not the subject of a complaint and indicate that an officer may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a way that would justify disciplinary proceedings.

Of them, 16 were referred to official misconduct proceedings and 42 were referred to the reflective practice review process. No action was required in 36 cases .

A further 59 "recordable conduct matter" allegations were made, where it is alleged that an officer's conduct resulted in the death or serious injury of any person.

A decision that no action was required was determined in 22 cases, while 20 were referred to misconduct proceedings and 16 were referred to the reflective practice review process.

The Police Federation of England and Wales, which declined to comment on the case against David Carrick, said the vast majority of police officers provide the "best service they can" in challenging circumstances.

A spokesperson added: "Police officers are responding to increased demands on their services and at times things can and do go wrong.

"The results from the police misconduct statistics show that only a very small percentage of police officers are dismissed from the service as a result of a complaint."