Misconduct/gross misconduct proceedings from 2019, 2020 and 2021

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.22.023320

I note you seek access to the following information:

For each calendar year 2019, 2020 and 2021 and the period 1 January 2022 to 14 February 2022, please answer the following questions:

1. How many of your police officers faced misconduct or gross misconduct proceedings (i.e officers employed by your force at the time the alleged misconduct took place)?

2. For each case, please provide the officer’s name (if permitted), rank and a description of the misconduct type (i.e sexual misconduct, assault, discriminatory behaviour, etc)

3. For each case, please confirm the outcome of the misconduct or gross misconduct proceedings; any disciplinary action taken and whether the officer remains employed by your force

Decision

I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:

Section 40(2)&(3) – Personal Information

Reason for decision

Securing and maintaining the trust of the community is integral to the principle of policing by consent and to continue to do so, the MPS recognises that its staff must act with professionalism and integrity at all times. The MPS treats each occasion when an allegation is made about the conduct of its staff extremely seriously and will fully investigate each incident to determine whether the conduct of that member of staff has breached the standards of professional behaviour. Where the conduct of staff is proven to have fallen below the standards of behaviour expected, the MPS will take robust action to ensure that its staff are appropriately disciplined and that lessons are learnt from each case. Any instance where the conduct of our staff is alleged to have fallen below the standards of behaviour expected is treated extremely seriously by the MPS.

It should be noted that the currently MPS employs over 34,000 police officers inclusive of those in the Metropolitan Special Constabulary. The number of police officers charged or convicted of an offence each year accordingly, represents a very small percentage of those officers employed by the MPS.

Section 40(2)&(3) - Personal Information - of the Act provides that any information to which a request for information relates, is exempt information if the first condition of Section 40(3A)(a) is satisfied. The first condition of Section 40(3A)(a) states that personal information is exempt if its disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles. If the disclosure of the requested personal data would not contravene the data protection principles, the disclosure must also not contravene Sections 3A(b) and 3B of the Act.

Disclosure

I have disclosed the information located to you. Please find enclosed with this notice, a spreadsheet in which the requested information has been provided. In disclosing the information located to you, I have grouped police officers holding the rank of inspector and above to minimise the risk of identification. In this regard, the exemption set out by Section 40 (personal data) of the Act is claimed.