11 officers in Humberside Police accused of domestic violence within the last two years

11 officers in Humberside Police accused of domestic violence within the last two years

11 officers from Humberside Police have been accused of domestic violence within the last two years, a Freedom of Information request submitted by Gi Media has revealed.

The FOI request – which covers the period from 1 January 2019 to 20 October 2021 – also stated that one officer was accused of sexual assault.

However, no charges were ever brought against any of the 12 officers regarding the allegations.

In May this year, Channel 4 News reported that one woman per week comes forward with allegations that their partner in the police force is “seriously abusing” them or their children.

The report reads: “At least 129 women have approached the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) since 2019 with claims of being raped, beaten and coerced by their police officer spouses and partners.

“One former police commander described officer perpetrated domestic abuse as an “epidemic” within the force.

“Some victims blamed a “boys club” culture of cover-ups and closing ranks that made survivors feel they were being silenced.”

Head of Professional Standards Detective Superintendent Matt Baldwin from Humberside Police told Gi Media: “We expect the highest standards from all of our officers and staff at all times. Where they fall short of these standards, either professionally or personally, we take robust action in line with police conduct regulations.

“When an allegation is made towards a member of staff or officer, each incident is assessed on a case-by-case merit to understand the circumstances.  Once individually assessed, a thorough internal investigation is conducted and when required criminal proceedings follow.

“To continue to maintain the trust and confidence in the services we provide to the public, it is vital our misconduct processes are transparent. Transparency ensures members of our communities to see the action taken against those who do not maintain our standards.

“Following guidelines provided by the College of Policing, we aim to publish details –including the names – of all misconduct hearings where an officer is found to have breached the code of conduct.

“We expect the very highest standards of professionalism and behaviour from all police staff and deal with those that break the law in the same way we do with anyone that commits such offences – robustly and swiftly.”