Thames Valley Police officers disciplined for sexual misconduct

Twenty four serving Thames Valley Police (TVP) officers were disciplined for sexual misconduct over a period of just under four years, figures show.

A report released by the force showed there were three rape accusations in 2021, two in 2022 and two in 2023.

It also shows 40 current or former TVP staff were disciplined for sexual misconduct over a 47-month period.

The force said it found the number of complaints had "increased significantly" from previous years.

Those disciplined include the 24 serving officers, six serving support staff and 10 former officers. Sanctions ranged from written warnings to dismissal.

TVP said the report, released last month, was "designed to be transparent with the reporting and findings of allegations of sexual misconduct to improve confidence in reporting these matters".

Many allegations were still being investigated when the report was released, and the report does not indicate if the seven rape complaints had been resolved.

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."

The number of officers employed by the force increased by 14.5% from February 2020 to last month. The report found there were 4,527 FTE officers in February 2020 and 5,185 FTE officers employed last month.

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, and 3,760 FTE staff earlier last month.

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