Force reveals number of police disciplined for sexual misconduct
Thames Valley Police released the figures on its website
A total of 24 serving Thames Valley Police (TVP) officers were disciplined for sexual misconduct between February 2020 and the end of 2023, new figures show.
A report on TVP’s website notes an unspecified number of its staff were accused of seven cases of rape over that time - three times in 2021, twice in 2022 and twice in 2023. It is unclear if those cases have been resolved.
The report also shows 40 current or former TVP staff were disciplined for sexual misconduct over the 47-month period the report covers.
That includes the 24 serving officers, six serving support staff and 10 former officers. Sanctions ranged from written warnings to dismissal.
TVP said the report was “designed to be transparent with the reporting and findings of allegations of sexual misconduct to improve confidence in reporting these matters”.
A total of 25 cases were found to merit dismissal, though the former employees might have been responsible for multiple complaints.
Another four cases were found to merit a final written warning and 12 cases a written warning. Reflective practice was the sanction given in 19 cases.
TVP said the report was released in part as a reaction to an increase of freedom of information requests asking about sexual misconduct by its staff.
The force said while it showed the proportion of staff affected was small, it found complaints had “increased significantly” from previous years.
Many allegations are still being investigated, it said.
Dee Hackling, an analyst who wrote the report, said: “[The report] shows that confidence is starting to increase in the reporting of these allegations. It also shows that Thames Valley Police will take decisive action when sexual misconduct allegations are made.”
Police documents, vehicles and discipline (from last month)
Revealed: the number of suspended Thames Valley Police officers (from October)
The number of officers employed by the force increased by 14.5% from February 2020 to Tuesday. The report found there were 4,527 FTE officers in February 2020 and 5,185 FTE officers employed earlier this week.
The number of police support staff has also increased, by 12.3%, over the same period. The report said there were 3,348 FTE staff just over four years ago; there were 3,760 FTE staff earlier this week.
The report said 106 sexual misconduct cases were opened between February 2020 and the end of December 2023, with those cases involving 178 staff.
Of those staff affected, 154 were men and 18 were women. In six cases, their gender was recorded as unknown.
A regulator’s overall rating of Banbury's Horton Hospital has been downgraded after a visit to its maternity services last year.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the hospital’s maternity services required improvement overall after finding "poor governance and ineffective systems" which could have put people at risk of harm.
It also gave a rating of requires improvement for how safe and well-led they were after an inspection in October.
Following the CQC’s report, released this morning, the Horton's overall rating and ratings for its safety and leadership dropped from good to requires improvement.
The hospital is part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH), which also has a rating of requires improvement.
Milica Redfearn, OUH's director of midwifery, said the trust was "disappointed" but will "work to make the improvements suggested".
"We have a great team at the Horton midwifery-led unit as the inspectors found when they visited," she added.
October’s inspection did not look at how effective, caring and responsive the maternity services were.
Carolyn Jenkinson, the CQC’s deputy director of secondary and specialist care, said inspectors found "poor record-keeping" and a lack of oversight in some areas at the Banbury hospital.
She said: “It was also concerning that safety equipment wasn’t always checked regularly, which meant some out-of-date equipment and products might be used on people.
“We found a blood giving set which had expired several months before the inspection, and an ambulance transfer bag with expired items inside. This could put women, people using the service and their babies at risk of harm.”
Prof Meghana Pandit, OUH's chief executive officer, said the trust’s commitment to the Horton is “unwavering”.
“Although this new rating is a setback, we are immensely proud of our local hospital, the services it provides and our wonderful staff,” she said.
“Our plans for the Horton as a modern district general hospital providing urgent and local care to the people of Banbury and surrounding areas are set out in our Clinical Strategy.”
An Oxford college dealing with issues relating to lightweight concrete has been given planning permission to mitigate them.
St Catherine's College asked for permission to put joists underneath affected beds of RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) and host some activities in temporary marquees.
Much of that has already been done but Oxford City Council granted part-retrospective permission on Wednesday.
The college is Grade I listed. It was built in the early 1960s on land bought from Merton College and designed by Danish architect Arne Jacobsen.
It opened in 1962 while still under construction. Queen Elizabeth II laid its foundation stone.
Earlier this year, it said six of its buildings were affected by RAAC: two accommodation blocks, its Bernard Sunley Building, its Wolfson Library, its dining hall and its administration block.