It should be noted that the figures used in the article referred to, do not take into account the number of officers serving within each organisation and only a quarter of police forces returned information to this national Freedom of Information request, which was used to populate the figures.
In the breakdown of 57 criminal offences committed by PSNI officers, they do not all relate to ‘serious crimes’ and 35 of these offences actually relate to road traffic matters.
That said, the PSNI and the community expect its officers to behave with integrity and to the highest ethical and professional standards, both on and off duty. In those instances where an officer falls below those expected standards, the PSNI, Police Ombudsman and indeed criminal courts will hold them to account for that. The fact that such robust action is taken where criminality is identified is clear evidence of that fact.
The number of officers whose actions have resulted in a criminal conviction over the last five years is approximately 10 per annum from an organisation of 6,700 police officers. Any officer found guilty of an offence will also be subject to a misconduct investigation and potential sanctions up to dismissal from the Police Service.
These figures should also be viewed in the context of the continuing reduction in complaints and allegations to the Police Ombudsman which show a steady downward trend in the last five years. Breaches of Code of Ethics are also on a downward trajectory.
The Police Service utilises a range of vetting levels for officers which is dependent upon their role and is implemented at a range of stages within their service. This process is critical to ensuring that we maintain the integrity of the organisation. Whilst no vetting process can provide total assurance, the current approach is considered a robust and effective one and meets national standards.