Two PSNI officers sacked for ‘abhorrent’ behaviour towards female colleagues

By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association

Two male Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers have been sacked following separate incidents in which they touched the buttocks of female colleagues.

In one incident, an officer had been convicted of two counts of sexual assault against a female colleague.

https://x.com/PoliceServiceNI/status/2072271315327697088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In the other, the officer made a sexualised comment towards one female colleague and groped the buttocks of another.

Both incidents were dealt with in special case hearings conducted by the Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.

The two men were dismissed from the organisation on May 28 for behaviour described by the PSNI as “abhorrent and completely dismissive” of any respect towards colleagues in the workplace.

Head of professional standards branch, Chief Superintendent Stephen Murray said: “One of the male officers was dismissed after being convicted of two counts of sexual assault against a female colleague.

“These occurred during social events whilst the officers were off duty – and consisted of non-consensual sexual touching of a female colleague’s buttocks.

“This was determined by the Chief Constable to be gross misconduct and the officer was dismissed from the organisation.”

These dismissals demonstrate that sexual misconduct, misogyny and sexist behaviour have no place in the Police Service of Northern Ireland

Murray added: “A second officer, in a separate case, faced internal misconduct proceedings following unacceptable behaviour during a work night out.

“The male officer made a sexualised comment towards a female colleague, and groped the buttock of another female colleague.

“This represented a serious breach of professional standards, and risked significant damage to confidence in policing.

“The Chief Constable determined this behaviour to be gross misconduct and this officer was also dismissed.

“The officer had been previously found guilty of sexual assault, in a criminal court, in respect of the same incident.”

Murray added: “These dismissals demonstrate that sexual misconduct, misogyny and sexist behaviour have no place in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and reflect our zero-tolerance approach to this type of behaviour.

“We recognise the significant harm that sexual misconduct, harassment, misogynistic and sexist behaviour can cause to victims, individuals, teams and public confidence.”

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.