Enjoy beating up women? Become a policeman!

[Clymene]

An FOI request by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found that most forces simply don't investigate allegations of domestic violence against serving officers:

'there had been nearly 700 reports of domestic abuse by police officers in the three years to 2018 – averaging more than four a week. Less than one in ten reports resulted in a dismissal or warning. Only 3.9% of reports resulted in a conviction, compared with 6.2% among the general public.'

The police are deeply institutionally misogynist.

Full article (warning, contains graphic details of physical and emotional abuse): www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2021-06-15/years-of-living-in-fear-police-still-failing-partners-of-violent-officers

@FloppyHoldsNoTruckWithFrontedA

"The gentle giant that is my DP was a PC then PS for a decade and you know why he did it… ? To make it safer for us to walk around, he doesn’t even kill spiders when I ask him to get rid."

I think what you're describing is your own loving sexual relationship. A big part of that is obviously you celebrating your husband being big and strong yet not violent. You obviously also love the feeling that he protects you and others. And that's all good but can you see why it isn't relevant? Because no matter how big those muscles of his and despite him having filed 3 complaints against fellow officers, "one could see what was going to happen" (as you say).

So victims of abusive policeman can also "see what was going to happen" (mine has retired too, funny that) and it does happen and that's a big problem which is not in the least alleviated by your husband being considerate towards spiders.

You’ve blindly missed the point of my post(s), but thank you for telling me that the fact DP won’t harm a spider makes no difference, since I’m a single cell organism things like this pass me by…..

I was highlighting that ime they (not just him) do in fact report things, those things are then investigated but there’s so much red tape they end up tied in knots.

And.. to the other poster, no it’s not ‘more likely’ that someone is an abuser if they’re a police officer. It’s more likely they’ll get away with it, awful, but a completely different thing.

@purpleboy

This doesn't surprise me unfortunately, I've not had many positive experiences with the police, and those I know personally, whilst I certainly wouldn't say they abuse their wives because I have no knowledge or evidence of this, they are very aggressive characters and are often the ones causing problems on nights out, or on the football pitch etc.. I've heard some horrible stories from them and now I have disassociated. I don't trust the police at all, and I certainly wouldn't call them if I even needed help.

Yep... my experience of the police... deliberately provoking me / winding me up when stopping me for something trivial... assaulting me whilst peacefully protesting (the girl (15/16) next to me had her arm broken)... boasting about how amazing they are that when they hit an HGV tyre on the motorway whilst riding a motorbike that they did a massive jump over it and didn't crash... stopping me repeatedly when younger for the crime of driving an old car whilst young... being VERY VERY stupid... telling me that I had wasted their time for calling them after being mugged, because I had had a few drinks which meant that my testimony was worthless... telling me that I had wasted their time for calling them after someone had driven into my car and then driven off without stopping ("why did you call us - if you haven't got the registration no. then what's the point?")

etc etc.

And that's before we get into the stories I've been told, mainly by a fine aussie yarnsmith, but if they're even 25% true then it's a helluva lot worse than what I've posted above.

The best one can say is that many junior officers are harmless idiots in a Father Dougal type mould. I would never knowingly spend time with a police officer.

I've namechanged for this as think I've put too much outing stuff elsewhere, have been here for 9 years now.

I'm sure I've seen statistics that police officers are more likely as a profession to commit domestic abuse but typically can't find this now.

My ex husband was a police officer. He was abusive to me, mainly emotionally but physically on a couple of occasions. Had his hands round my throat. Coercive control- he used to threaten me by saying things like he'd lie and say my family members were abusing my daughter. Would try to scare me by saying he'd crash the car with my DC in it. He used to say that everyone would believe him and no one would believe me because he was a police officer. I'm convinced he learned so many of his tactics through his job.

In the end we split up when it came to light that he had lost his job. He'd lied about it for months. He also continued to lie about why he left the police. I didn't find out for around two years that the real reason was that he resigned before he would have been sacked for gross misconduct for inappropriate contact (sexual messages) with a domestic abuse victim. At the same time he was abusing me he was contacting this woman.

I had to keep reporting him for all of the ongoing abuse against me, mainly fraudulent online activities such as getting credit cards sent out in my name. The police were pretty useless in dealing with it, until one particular police officer actually listened reasonably well. They are still lazy and are only interested in the easy targets and crimes that are easy for them to deal with.

I think the job itself can naturally attract abusers and people who enjoy wielding control over others. I don't trust the police at all.

What I've realised recently is that officers accused of wrongdoing and found guilty by employment panel seem to get warned/ sacked rather than arrested.

It was this case the other day. Surely that was assault/ sexual assault or similar. He held scissors near her throat and verbally abused her. Then next day I think it was he put his hands round her neck and squeezed so she couldn't breathe.

There's a crime in there surely?!

If the police don't act with this then how are they trustworthy?!

The panel said it was misjudged banter. He would have been sacked but had already resigned.

I cannot get my head around this.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-hampshire-57402704

And.. to the other poster, no it’s not ‘more likely’ that someone is an abuser if they’re a police officer.

I'm not sure that can be said with certainty.

It absolutely is assault NiceGerbil, he should have been arrested and charged, they would have done so had it been Joe Bloggs doing it whilst the Policewoman was out on patrol, what is the difference? There isn't any apart from the uniform and culture and for that numpty on the panel to say it was misplaced work banter is just fucking unbelievable.

Yes so I was reading it, what he did. And that he'd have been sacked if not resigned. And that he would never be allowed to work as a police officer again.

Normally I would have read that and moved on thinking what an awfully awful thing, and, banter???!!! And that poor woman.

But I had a sudden lightbulb and thought hold on. Those are crimes. Definitely. And they seem to accept he did them. And they're the police. So why the hell has he not been arrested etc???

If the police are incapable of seeing what he did to her as a crime. Then that's bloody awful. The message it sends to women, to other female officers. If the police themselves can't notice that this is a crime then what the hell is going on?

If anyone knows why that would happen. Beyond guesswork etc. What the procedures are.

Because now I have noticed that I find it extremely troubling.

But I had a sudden lightbulb and thought hold on. Those are crimes. Definitely. And they seem to accept he did them. And they're the police. So why the hell has he not been arrested etc???

Again though, do we know whether they’ve been crimed, investigated, and it’s the CPS who refuse to take it further, or is it the police not criming in the first place. Even if he was arrested that wouldn't necessarily be in a news report.

If I have it right usually the criminal investigation is first- there can be no work investigation until the criminal proceedings are dealt with.

Eta: co-incidentally the WYP thing is on the news now- officer arrested, not charged, and now goes to a misconduct hearing. CPS said no charges as no realistic chance of conviction.

Does anyone know the mechanism behind automatic unwavering support for the police and a strong urge to shut down any critical conversations?

It happens all the time on here, about any topic to do with them.

Is it about feeling secure? If you it admit to yourself that the police are let's face it pretty often hopeless or worse then it feels threatening. If you can't trust them who can you trust? It's a psychological protection.

Similar to how when women are attacked loads of women say what was she doing there, why was she it out after dark, why did she get a cab by herself etc etc. Which I think is about reassuring yourself- I wouldn't do that so it wouldn't happen to me.

I find it a really interesting phenomenon. And of course while it continues that plenty of people just don't want to doubt them, it makes it easier for them to do all the things that happen.

I think for the assault I mentioned, given the tone of the article and the fact it made the mainstream news, if he had been arrested, investigated etc they would have included it.

The burden of proof is different on a disciplinary panel to court obv. The statement from the panel accepts he did it. They say it was 'banter' which is a terrible thing to say and that's why I get the feeling they didn't even think of arrest etc.

The other thing is if I were them, given the nature of what happened, and that they released their statement that they knew could go to press. I would be sure to say it was investigated from a criminal pov but X happened. Just to reassure, to let everyone know they did that.

Because they must know confidence in them from an awful lot of women is rock bottom and would see it as important to send a positive message.

NiceGerbil,
I found it so disorienting that the police were ..... as they were. Dh and I have discussed it since and concluded that we used to be in denial and that was a happier place to be.

When I was in an abusive relationship the police not only enabled my ex but three male officers assaulted me and were violent because I couldn’t answer them after an 18 stone bloke had sat on my chest strangling me til I passed out. Derbyshire police say there’s no evidence of this however. He ripped my hair extensions out of my head by the roots of my hair. He put his hand in my mouth on my freshly operated jaw when the hair ripping didn’t effect me. The three of them then pinned me by the head on a metal landing. Dragged me to their van. And then let me go.

Oh and my children turn a funny shade of white if they see male police officers coming towards me.

I'm so sorry proudexclu. That's grotesque. I've read similar but not as severe on here from other DV victims about the police.

You left that relationship you are safe now?

Xx

Well domestic violence spans all professions and all classes. Male police are actually LESS LIKELY to be doing DV. So this article and the zOP is misleading.

700 alleged to have done DV out of 88,791 Male police officers means a rate of DV of 0.7% or one eighth the rate of reported DV in the CSEW for the general population which is at 5.5%

(All figures from ONS 2020 data).

ProudExclu, I'm so very sorry. Have you people to talk to about this, to support you processing it?

Police brutality is separate from DV, and I agree that is a problem in the U.K., though not as bad as in the US where it is more often fatal brutality than not.

@LesRosiers

And.. to the other poster, no it’s not ‘more likely’ that someone is an abuser if they’re a police officer.

I'm not sure that can be said with certainty.

It can. See my post with the actual statistics. Cheers.

We have very different population makeups.

Our police don't tend to have guns.

This site relates to the deaths in custody of black men
www.inquest.org.uk/

Government enquiry
'There is evidence that restraint is disproportionately involved in the deaths of
people of black, Asian and minority ethnicity. INQUEST casework shows that the
proportion of BAME deaths in custody where restraint is a feature is over two
times greater than it is in other deaths in custody, as is the proportion where use
of force is a feature.15 These trends raise serious questions about the influence of
racism as a contributing factor to deaths, and have particular capacity to provoke
understandable anger and distrust within black communities.'

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/11638/pdf/&ved=2ahUKEwia2IGch53xAhU3_7sIHR_6BskQFjAEegQIGRAC&usg=AOvVaw2kSCOPX9kEptiNTST2Uygy" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/11638/pdf/&ved=2ahUKEwia2IGch53xAhU3_7sIHR_6BskQFjAEegQIGRAC&usg=AOvVaw2kSCOPX9kEptiNTST2Uygy

'In the last five years, 829 allegations of domestic abuse have been made against police officers or staff, according to a freedom of information request by File on Four.

32 of the 46 UK police forces responded so the overall figure will be higher
Of those cases, 43 resulted in prosecution - 5% of the total - which is lower than the rate of domestic violence prosecutions against members of the public, which is 9%'

From the BBC article.

I wonder why fewer cases were prosecuted?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-57432300

there had been nearly 700 reports of domestic abuse by police officers in the three years to 2018

Oops.
Just noticed that the 700 reports were the sum of 3 YEARS of reports and I’ve compared it to the 1 YEAR data of the CSEW. So actually, it’s
233.33 out of 88,791 male officers reported each year for DV, which is 0.26% of the male police population...so they are actually twenty-one times LESS LIKELY to be reported for DV than the general population 5.5% reported in 2020.

Article in the Telegraph, too, but beyind a paywall.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/06/15/800-allegations-domestic-abuse-against-police-officers-past/

Plan if the incidents/ accusations aren't being recorded, if there are no records, if they are not arrested. Then who knows.

Most DV is not reported to the police anyway.

The issue here is that the police tend to close ranks and look out for each other.