Chief constables across England and Wales have been told to urgently review their volunteer police cadet programmes amid claims that some officers are abusing their position of power “for sexual gain”.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is calling for safeguarding checks across England and Wales, and has launched investigations into several officers who worked with cadet groups in the nationwide scheme, for youngsters aged between 13 and 18.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A further four officers across the two forces are being investigated over how they dealt with the reports of abuse, The Independent says.
The Met confirmed that one of its constables has been suspended in the wake of what it calls “serious and sensitive allegations”.
IOPC deputy director-general Ian Todd has written a public letter to the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), the UK’s law enforcement coordination body, saying he is “extremely concerned” that the cases, which were referred in the same week, “may suggest a risk profile in this area”.
“I would ask that you urgently pass this information on to your Chief Constable colleagues to ensure, as a matter of priority, that they are satisfied that their own Volunteer Police Cadet programmes have robust safeguarding procedures in place,” he writes.
Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, NPCC lead for police cadets, has since said that he has asked all chiefs in England and Wales to find out if any similar cases are being dealt with in their forces, and to “personally ensure their local safeguarding arrangements are fully effective”.
In a statement, Todd added that it was not his intention to alarm young cadets, or their families, and noted that the programmes had benefited thousands of young people.
“I must stress that the two investigations are unconnected and we have no information to indicate this may be a wider problem. However, some of the evidence emerging from these investigations indicates that there may have been opportunities to act sooner on the allegations that we are now investigating,” he said.
The IOPC says anyone with concerns should contact them or their local police force.
-
The ethics behind facial recognition vans and policingThe Explainer The government is rolling out more live facial recognition technology across England
-
The Met police's stop and search overhaulThe Explainer More than 8,500 Londoners have helped put together a new charter for the controversial practice
-
NCHIs: the controversy over non-crime hate incidentsThe Explainer Is the policing of non-crime hate incidents an Orwellian outrage or an essential tool of modern law enforcement?
-
The new powers to stop stalking in the UKThe Explainer Updated guidance could help protect more victims, but public is losing trust in police and battered criminal justice system
-
'Warriors' vs 'guardians': the pitfalls of police recruit training in the USIN DEPTH American police training fails to keep pace with the increasingly complex realities that today's officers face
-
Derek Chauvin, killer of George Floyd, reportedly stabbed in prisonSpeed Read Chauvin was convicted of Floyd's murder in 2021
-
Nicola Bulley: police under fire for releasing personal informationSpeed Read Disclosure was 'avoidable and unnecessary' and led to 'breakdown of public confidence', College of Policing finds
-
Protest politics: when should police intervene?Talking Point Calls for law change after shouts of 'jihad' on UK streets found not to be terrorism or public order offences
