According to current College of Policing guidelines, police officers under investigation for crimes like child sexual abuse and corruption are permitted to resign and take up other public positions elsewhere.
Since 2017, the College of Policing has maintained two lists that contain information about specific officers who were terminated following an investigation into their actions, typically for gross misconduct.
Officers who are fired from their police force for serious misconduct are placed on the “barred” list, which bars them from working in law enforcement or certain other public positions for at least five years.
Officers who decide to leave their position or retire while it is being investigated, however, are added to the “advisory” list and may subsequently be hired for another position involving the public.
The advisory list is not accessible to the public or employers, whereas the barred list is, making it possible for prospective employers to be unaware of the allegations made against the applicant.
Only the Home Office, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services are permitted access to the list.
An officer is placed on the barred list if they are fired after an investigation is finished, but because investigations can take years to complete, former officers typically find new jobs before this happens.
According to the most recent data available, 46% of the 257 officers who were placed on the barred list between April 2020 and March 2021 chose to resign or retire while under investigation, allowing them to look for new employment before their names were added to the list.
According to data, all of the officers who were ultimately put on the barred list for some forces—including Leicestershire, Suffolk, and West Mercia forces—left the force while they were being investigated.
The 257 officers who will not be eligible for future policing positions in 2020–2021 set a record high since the list’s inception in December 2017 and account for just over 30% of the list’s 812 officers.
38 officers were let go for abusing their position for sex, 16 for assault, 7 for possessing or committing child sexual offences, 20 for sexual misconduct or offences, and 7 for domestic violence or harassment.
With 50 more officers added to the list, the Metropolitan Police, which was recently placed under special measures, barred the most officers in 2020–2021.
Concerning examples of officers who have taken on public-facing roles while being on the advisory list were discovered during a Times investigation into officers on the barred list.
Simon Beech, a member of the Greater Manchester Police (GMP), was permitted to join the Royal British Legion as the organization’s safeguarding coordinator despite allegations that he used his position to cultivate relationships with crime victims and witnesses.
When the charity asked GMP for a reference for Beech, 35, it claimed to The Times that it had not been informed of any ongoing investigations.
The investigation took a total of five years to complete, and he was suspended with pay for two years before resigning.
He developed inappropriate relationships with two women he met while performing his duties and pursued relationships with a further four women before being detained on suspicion of misconduct in a public office.
He allegedly got in touch with two of the women after that and told them not to talk to the police.
He worked for the Royal British Legion for two and a half years, from 2019 to 2021, and has since left the organisation. He had been working for GMP for almost 11 years prior to that.
Beech’s LinkedIn profile states he has experience in ‘safeguarding adults and children, identifying and managing risk, investigation into criminal and safeguarding concerns, [and] covert and overt surveillance.’
After a police officer who was accused of predatory behaviour started driving black cabs, the Metropolitan Police came under fire as well.
After being accused of having a sexual relationship with a suicidal woman he met while conducting a welfare check, Phil Hunter, 58, retired during the course of the investigation.
Hunter’s taxi licence was revoked in August 2021. Graham Robinson, TfL’s general manager of taxi and private hire, said: ‘We revoked this individual’s licence as soon as we became aware of all the relevant information.’
Police forces across the UK have come under fire in recent months after a spate of scandals – the most notable of which involve London’s Metropolitan Police.
The kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer in March 2021 sparked nationwide anger, which only increased after officers arrested women at a vigil in her memory for breaking coronavirus restrictions.
The force has since been found to have acted unlawfully at the vigil.
There have also been multiple reports of messages between serving officers on WhatsApp containing sexist, racist and homophobic comments – including officers at Charing Cross who shared ‘abhorrent’ messages which included joking about domestic violence.
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: ‘The police must ensure their actions are beyond reproach, acting within the law, being transparent with the public and following all relevant disciplinary processes.
‘As part of the Government’s commitment to improving police integrity, all officers, special constables and staff members who have been dismissed from policing after investigation are placed, indefinitely, on the College of Policing’s published barred list.
‘Since 2017, officers can now also be pursued for gross misconduct, even if they have already resigned, or retired.’