Police officers banned from serving reaches record high - The Independent

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More police officers than ever were barred from serving in the police service in the year to the end of March, according to the professional body for policing.

A total of 757 police officers in England and Wales have been barred from serving after they were sacked for breaching professional standards.

The figure in 2026 was an increase from 735 in 2024/25 and 594 in 2023/24, bringing the total to the highest number in a single year since the list was introduced in 2017, the College of Policing confirmed last week.

Specials, staff and police officers are banned from returning to policing once they are sacked for breaching standards, before they are added to the list.

Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson, director of operational standards at the College of Policing, said: “Policing is built on trust and these figures show we will not hesitate to act when that trust is broken.

“757 officers have been removed and barred from ever serving again, including those who retired or resigned while under investigation.

“This represents 0.5% of all serving officers, with the vast majority of officers serving with courage, professionalism and integrity.

“We all deserve a service that roots out those who fall short. Where standards are breached, we will find out and we will act.

“Since the barred list was introduced in December 2017, 3,591 regular officers have been added in total, with the pace of dismissals accelerating markedly: 757 officers were barred last year alone, more than in any single year since the list began and over twice the annual average of the preceding four years.”

In its report, the College of Policing set out the different reasons that officers were sacked and banned from working in policing, with multiple reasons cited in some cases.

The reasons included dishonesty in 142 cases, discriminatory behaviour in 110 and 101 unlawful access or disclosure of information.

There were 87 cases involving sexual offences or misconduct, with a child sexual abuse in six instances and rape in five, and abuse of position for a sexual purpose in 46.

In terms of rank, 641 of those barred were police constables, 84 sergeants, 18 inspectors, five chief inspectors, five superintendents and four chief superintendents.

The report said that 334 serving officers were placed on the list, 397 after they had resigned and 26 after they had retired.

The forces with the highest number of officers added were the Metropolitan Police with 195 (current workforce 31,495), Greater Manchester Police with 46 (workforce 8,234) and West Midlands Police (workforce 8,174).

The number of officers from forces in England and Wales placed on the list has increased year on year since 2021/22 when 299 were added; with 394 added in 2022/23.

In total, 25 police specials were placed on the barred list in the year to the end of March 2026, down from 31 the previous year and 29 in 2023/24; and 348 police staff, up from 280 in 2024/25 and 233 in 2023/24.

In the year to the end of March 2026, 111 officers and specials added to the list came from a black or other minority ethnic background out of 782 cases where ethnicity was recorded, and 54 out of 348 police staff.

The data showed that among those added to the list, 671 officers and specials were white, along with 294 staff. Government workforce data showed that 8.7% of officers were from minority ethnic groups in the year to March 31 2026.

Looking at gender, 124 officers and specials were female, with 656 male and two who preferred to self-describe; while 148 police staff were female and 199 were male, with one preferring to self-describe.