Almost a dozen police officers off work due to suspensions in Bedfordshire
Almost a dozen officers were suspended from their duties this year at Bedfordshire Police, new figures show.
England and Wales saw a 44 per cent increase in the number of officers missing work due to suspensions compared to the same time last year.
Home Office figures show Bedfordshire had the equivalent of 10 full-time officers suspended as of March 31 – a slight decrease on 12 a year earlier.
Bedfordshire’s Deputy Chief Constable Dan Vajzovic confirmed there were currently 11 officers suspended by the force. He said: “The public must be able to trust our police officers, which is why we demand the very highest standards and take any allegation of wrongdoing extremely seriously.“Suspension is a neutral act, but not one we take lightly as we always try to keep people productive where possible. However, there are cases which are so serious that suspension is the most appropriate course of action while investigations are carried out.“Over the last 12 months, nine officers from this force have been dismissed, or would have faced dismissal had they not already resigned, after being found to have committed gross misconduct. All nine had been suspended prior to the hearings.
Officers must have missed work for at least 28 days to be counted in the absence figures. Across England and Wales 694 were suspended as March, up 44 per cent from 481 a year earlier.
Deputy Chief Constable Vajzovic added: “We remain absolutely resolute in our commitment to take action in serious cases and to develop a culture where colleagues feel empowered to call out any behaviour or conduct which falls below the standards we expect.”
These figures are a snapshot taken at the end of the financial year and will not include all suspensions that have taken place over the course of the year.
Dr Sarah Charman – a professor of criminology and researcher of police culture – said efforts to restore public trust in the police cannot be a "short-term fix".
She said: "Part of that activity is a determination to root out existing unacceptable police behaviours and a re-examination of many past allegations. It seems highly likely therefore that we will see an increase in the numbers of suspended police officers."
There was an overall increase in the number of unavailable officers across England and Wales, with nearly 6,000 officers absent from their duties, or one in 20 of the total workforce.
Bedfordshire Police had the equivalent of 78 of its 1,458 officers absent as of March.
Over the same period, the total number of police personnel grew just 0.2% across the country – making it unlikely the rise in absent officers is due to a larger number of officers in total.
Also contributing to the rise was a 20 per cent jump in officers missing work due to illness or injury. More than 3,000 officers were long-term sick at this point.
At Bedfordshire Police, 45 officers had been off work sick for 28 days or longer – a rise from 36 a year before.
In addition to sick leave and suspensions, 18 officers were absent due to parental leave, while six were taking a career break.