No action taken in nine in 10 allegations against Greater Manchester Police officers

Police behaviour and misconduct processes have fallen under the spotlight after it emerged serving Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick – who admitted a string of sexual offences and rapes spanning two decades – faced no misconduct action or criminal sanctions, despite coming to the attention of the force on several occasions.

Home Office figures show 4,368 misconduct allegations were made against Greater Manchester Police officers and handled under the formal complaints process in the year to April 2022.

Of these, 3,894 (89 per cent) resulted in no action being required against the police officers.

Just two allegations were referred to official misconduct proceedings and 64 were referred to the reflective practice review process – when an officer’s behaviour falls short of expectations but does not amount to misconduct.

The figures cover the total number of allegations rather than the number of complaints – one complaint could contain several allegations of misconduct – and do not cover any complaints handled outside the formal process.

Across England and Wales, 87,786 allegations were made against police officers and handled under the formal complaints process in 2021-22. The majority (88 per cent) found no action was required.

David Carrick pleaded guilty to 49 offences against at least a dozen women – including 24 counts of rape – over an 18-year period. He was only suspended in October 2021 after being arrested over a second rape complaint.

The Met has apologised to victims after it was revealed he came to the attention of police over nine incidents, including allegations of rape, domestic violence and harassment, between 2000 and 2021.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said in reaction to Carrick's case that there is no place in police forces for officers who “who fall so seriously short" of the acceptable standards of behaviour.

The Home Office figures show there were 272 allegations of "conduct matter" offences against GMP officers in 2021-22 – those which are not the subject of a complaint and indicate that an officer may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a way that would justify disciplinary proceedings.

Of them, 10 were referred to official misconduct proceedings and 84 were referred to the reflective practice review process. No action was required in 142 cases.

A further 82 "recordable conduct matter" allegations were made, where it is alleged an officer's conduct resulted in a death or serious injury.

A decision that no action was required was determined in 46 cases, while three were referred to misconduct proceedings and 21 were referred to the reflective practice review process.

Nationally, 68 officers were found guilty in criminal proceedings including sexual offences (10), violence against the person (10) and traffic offences (23).

The Police Federation of England and Wales, which declined to comment on the case against David Carrick, said the vast majority of police officers provide the "best service they can" in challenging circumstances.

A spokesperson added: "Police officers are responding to increased demands on their services and at times things can and do go wrong.

"The results from the police misconduct statistics show that only a very small percentage of police officers are dismissed from the service as a result of a complaint."