Number of sexual misconduct complaints made against South Yorkshire Police officers revealed

A total of one sexual misconduct complaint case was recorded by South Yorkshire Police in the year ending March 2022 which was formally investigated, and related to an allegation of ‘abuse of position for a sexual purpose,’ The Star can reveal. The information has been obtained from the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) through a Freedom of Information request. A complaint case can involve more than one allegation.

The obtained figures from the IOPC showing the number of complaints against police of sexual assault, sexual harassment, abuse of position for a sexual purpose or other sexual conduct which were closed in the year ending March 2022, and how each was dealt with.

Superintendent Delphine Waring, head of Professional Standards at South Yorkshire Police, said: “We know members of the public want to feel safe and we are and will take swift action against any officers who are falling below the high standards expected in policing.

“We take reported complaints incredibly seriously and would encourage anyone who is concerned about the behaviour of a police officer to come forward and report it. When a reported complaint meets the mandatory referral criteria, it will be referred to the IOPC.

“Whether the person reporting is a member of the public or an SYP officer or staff member, they will be listened to, taken seriously and provided appropriate support from the force and partners agencies.”

It comes as former Metropolitan police officer Wayne Couzens was sentenced to 19 months’ custody on March 6, 2023 for flashing women in the months before he kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard, crimes for which he received a whole life prison sentence during a sentencing hearing held last year.

In the year to March 2022, police forces across England and Wales dealt with 270 complaints from the public alleging sexual misconduct by staff or officers, analysis of data published by the IOPC, shows.

During the same period, thirteen complaints of sexual misconduct by Metropolitan Police personnel were closed without being formally investigated last year. The figure - the highest of any force in England and Wales - includes seven allegations of sexual assault.

The IOPC regards Nottinghamshire Police and West Yorkshire Police as being of a similar size to South Yorkshire Police. During the same period, a total of six sexual misconduct allegations were made to Nottinghamshire Police, involving four sexual assault complaints, and two of other sexual conduct. Five of the six complaints were formally investigated, the figures show.

A total of nine sexual misconduct complaints were made to West Yorkshire Police in the year ending March 2022, with seven relating to allegations of sexual assault, one categorised as abuse of position for sexual purpose and one of other sexual conduct. Of the nine sexual misconduct complaints made, just two were formally investigated.

IOPC figures have been sought for all police forces in England and Wales, the results of which have led to concerns over the variation in how complaints are handled. At some police forces, all allegations of sexual misconduct were formally investigated, at others none were.

A spokesperson for the IOPC said: “The vast majority of the 120,000 allegations overall received each year are dealt with by forces themselves and are only referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) if they meet criteria set out in law. We have a statutory duty of oversight of the complaints system and set the standards for police recording of complaints. Police forces are responsible for ensuring complaints are recorded and handled appropriately in line with guidance, with local oversight also provided by Police and Crime Commissioners.”

Andrea Simin, director of the End Violence Against Women Coalition, said the investigation showed that the ‘lack of meaningful consequences for police officers is clear’.

She said: “The data also shows a huge amount of inconsistency across forces, underlining the need for strong leadership in efforts to transform how the police respond to perpetrators within their ranks and the cultures of misogyny that enable them.”

Over the past year, two South Yorkshire Police officers have been convicted of criminal offences relating to inappropriate sexual behaviour towards women carried out while they were serving officers.

Most recently, former police constable, Paul Hinchcliffe, was convicted of sexual assault in January 2023, following a trial at Leeds Crown Court. Jurors convicted Hinchcliffe of the offence, following an incident at a Rotherham pub in October 2020, in which he pulled down a teenager’s top. Hinchcliffe resigned from the force prior to his misconduct hearing being held last month, but a panel found his behaviour amounted to gross misconduct in his absence, and he would have been sacked had he still been a serving officer. He is due to be sentenced for the offence later this month.

In August 2022, former special constable Faran Hanson, then aged 26, was convicted of three offences of using public electronic communications network to send a message that is grossly offensive or indecent, after sending pictures of his genitals to three women, two of whom were trainee police officers under his supervision. Following a trial at Leeds Magistrates’ Court, Hanson was sentenced to a two-year community order, 60 days of rehabilitation activity requirements, 200 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay costs. Hanson was sacked without notice during a misconduct hearing held on October 31, 2022.

A third South Yorkshire Police officer, Liam Mills, was jailed for nine months in October 2022, after he started a sexual relationship with a domestic abuse victim he met in a professional capacity, and went on to send her confidential material, including a video of a murder scene. The sentencing hearing at Sheffield Crown Court heard how Mills, then aged 34, had sex with the woman twice while he was on duty. He was also found to have used police records to obtain the personal number of another woman he took a statement from in July 2021, but she shut down personal communication with him within hours, and told him it made her ‘uncomfortable’. Mills resigned from his post in January 2022, less than a month before a misconduct hearing. The hearing was held in his absence and it was found he would have been sacked if he had not resigned.