Predatory behaviour in 30% of serious cases investigated by police watchdog

By Rebecca Black (Press Association)

Predatory behaviour features in 30% of the most serious cases investigated by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland.

A new report, Abuse of Position for Sexual Purposes (APSP) by PSNI Officers: Analysis and Emerging Findings, analysed allegations involving officers (all male and aged between 30 and 50) between 2018 to 2024.

The report also highlights vulnerabilities of the 36 victims (all female) identified in the cases, from being a victim of crime, to mental health issues, domestic abuse, suicidal ideation or addiction.

Some victims were involved in crimes themselves, which the report found made them more vulnerable to exploitation by a police officer.

The findings include that in three cases the officer had sexual contact with the victim on the same day they met in the course of his duties.

In two thirds of cases there was a gradual escalation of contact with the victim by the officer over a period, varying from text and social media messages to visits to the victim’s house.

In a further ten of the investigations, the officer had engaged in sexual contact with the female within a month, and in one case contact is reported to have taken place over the course of 20 years.

There was evidence of targeted exploitation of women, with police officers often making inappropriate use of police systems to identify women for sexual exploitation or acquire further information in relation to potential victims.

Police Ombudsman chief executive Hugh Hume described some of the findings as shocking.

He also said they hope the publication of the report will reassure victims they can come forward and know their complaint will be taken seriously.

“Although this is a small number of officers relative to the size of the PSNI, the abuse of their position for their own sexual gain inflicts significant and long-lasting damage on their victims,” he said.

“Such is the power imbalance that many women do not report the offending directly for fear of reprisal, and others can be so vulnerable that they do not recognise that the officer is abusing them and instead see him as a ‘knight in shining armour’ figure.

“Others do not see themselves as victims at all.

“We hope one of the outcomes of publishing this report will be that any woman who has had a similar experience with a police officer will feel reassured that we take this kind of offending seriously and know that if this has happened to them, we will listen and we will investigate.”

Mr Hume said the Ombudsman’s office is currently investigating allegations of police predatory behaviour which involve a total of 39 victims and 20 serving and two former police officers.

“We are seeing a rise in these cases and the majority of those are coming from the PSNI itself,” he said.

“This is welcome and shows a very clear willingness at the most senior level to identify and eradicate this kind of behaviour.

“I hope this analysis will support the PSNI further in recognising and addressing predatory police behaviour, as well as strengthening their systems so the opportunity for this type of corruption is reduced.”

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said any abuse of position for sexual purposes is “wholly unacceptable”.

“It represents a serious breach of trust and a violation of the standards rightly expected of police officers,” he said.

“The Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland in its March 2025 report found that the Police Ombudsman’s handling of abuse-of-position complaints needed to improve and, as this most recent report recognises, by focusing on this issue together we have seen the number of referrals and investigations increase.

“I welcomed that report and the clear need for both the PSNI and the Ombudsman to robustly deal with allegations of abuse of power.

“While the report identifies serious individual misconduct, it also recognises the significant work we have done to strengthen professional standards, enhance vetting and misconduct reporting processes and ensure learning from past failures.”

He described work such as a previous review of historical investigations after the murder of Sarah Everard, an independent review of performance and internal behaviour by Rachel Langdale KC, and making sexism, misogyny and wider unacceptable behaviours a focus in a recent workforce inclusion survey.

“We will work ever harder with the Police Ombudsman and other key external stakeholders, including through the independent Langdale Review, to ensure robust prevention, early identification and decisive action against predatory behaviour.

“There is no place for those who display such behaviour in the PSNI,” he said.

“The vast majority of our officers and staff serve with integrity and dedication. Where standards fall short, we will act decisively.

“Our focus is on protecting the vulnerable, maintaining public confidence and ensuring transparency and accountability in all that we do.”

Policing Board chairman Mukesh Sharma described the report findings as “deeply concerning”, and said it will be a focus of discussion at a board meeting this week.

“The Chief Constable has made it clear to the organisation that there will be zero tolerance of police officers or police staff who abuse their position or powers,” he said.

“The board is currently finalising a revised code of ethics for the PSNI which makes it explicitly clear that police officers shall not establish or continue a sexual or improper relationship with any victim, witness, suspect, detained person or defendant arising from their duties.

“Abuse of power is deeply damaging to public confidence in policing and as a board, we encourage anyone who has been subject to abuse of power by a serving or former officer to contact the office of the Police Ombudsman and make a report.”