Police sacked for attacks on women after Everard murder
Midland officers fired after cases of stalking or harassment
POLICE officers in the West Midlands have been sacked for attacking, stalking or harassing women, a Post investigation in the wake of the shocking murder of Sarah Everard has revealed.
The kidnap and murder of Ms Everard by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens sent shockwaves across the nation and placed increased focus on the behaviour of a minority of male officers towards women and how they should be dealt with.
The London force found itself embroiled in a series of scandals after racist, sexist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers at Charing Cross station emerged. Messages from WhatsApp and Facebook groups included multiple references to rape, violence against women.
Now the Post has uncovered details about officers who were sacked by the West Midlands force because of violence, threats or unwanted behaviour towards women. Since the start of 2018, five officers faced disciplinary proceedings.
Two were dismissed without notice and two more would have been sacked but had quit the force before proceedings began. One was allowed to keep his job and slapped with a final written warning.
The information was handed over by West Midlands Police following a Freedom of Information request, after several attempts to get details about its officers and violence towards women.
Specific reasons police were hauled before disciplinary panels were not provided, with the force citing data protection rules, confirming only that it related to some form of violence or harassment towards women.
We tried to find out about all the allegations that had been made against serving officers in recent years but, again, the force said it was not able to provide details.
The murder of Ms Everard sparked a shake-up of police rules around the violence against women.
Officers in the West Midlands were warned they would be sacked on the spot if convicted of violence against women, in a move to signal chiefs were taking the matter seriously.
The West Midlands Victims’ Commissioner, Nicky Brennan, said a clear message that any sort of violence, abuse or harassment wouldn’t be tolerated was needed.
She said: “It is absolutely right that police officers who are violent towards women or girls will be sacked under the new College of Policing guidance. There have been far too many occasions where officers who have displayed this behaviour have gone on to commit further offences.
“This was never clearer than in the horrifying murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met Police officer. There is no place for officers who are violent towards women and girls in the police force.
“They should face the most severe sanctions. It doesn’t matter if you are on or off duty, any officer involved in violence of this kind, grooming of vulnerable victims or engaging in sexual impropriety or harassment should face the harshest penalty.”
Last year, Pc James Ankrett was sacked for having a relationship with a domestic abuse victim. His bosses said his intention was sexual gratification and labelled his actions a “serious abuse of his position as a police officer”.