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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 312-2023
I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 21st March 2023 as follows:
My request relates to sexual harassment of policing staff by fellow policing colleagues.
I define sexual harassment as per the World Bank 2009 definition:
“any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favour, verbal or physical conduct or gesture of a sexual nature, or any other behaviours of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected to be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another. Such harassment may be, but is not necessarily, of a form that interferes with work, is made a condition of employment, or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment”.
A second definition taken from a UK police force’s sexual misconduct policy outlines sexual harassment as:
“The main type of sexual harassment is unwanted conduct of a sexual nature perpetrated on a particular person, for example unwelcome sexual advances. Also prohibited is sex-related harassment, which means unwanted conduct related to the protected characteristic of sex. The unwanted conduct does not have to be directed towards the complainant or related to his or her actual sex. This could include telling jokes about women or making derogatory sexist remarks about women. And less favourable treatment based on a person’s rejection of or submission to sex-related harassment or sexual harassment is also unlawful. This could cover circumstances where a woman is rejected for promotion by her boss after turning down his sexual advances. Sexual harassment isn’t limited to face-to-face interaction, either. Harassment online, by phone, or by letter is also against the law.”
Please could you provide the following information. Please note there are three parts to my request.
Q1. Since 1 January 2018 and 20 March 2023, how many members of staff in your force have made a sexual harassment complaint against a fellow member of staff?
Q2. How many of the complaints made in the timeframe were upheld?
Q3. What was the outcome of the upheld complaints? Outcomes can include but are not limited to verbal warning, written warning, suspension, or dismissal, or referral to criminal proceedings.
Q4. If it does not push the request over the cost limit, please can you also include:
(i) The nature of the allegation
(ii) The gender and rank of the complainant
(iii) The gender and rank of the alleged perpetrator
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in providing the response to your request and for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please find the Warwickshire Police response set out below.
Response: Searches identified 6 cases, relating to 8 officers; however, I can advise that 1 of those cases is yet to be finalised, and any further information in relation to this case has been excluded from the response by virtue of Section 31(1)(g)(2)(b) Law Enforcement - for the purposes of ascertaining whether any person is responsible for any conduct which is improper.
Section 31 is a qualified, prejudiced-based exemption and as such there is a requirement to evidence the harm caused in disclosure and also to carry out the public interest test.
Harm
The release of information in relation to cases that are still ongoing, risks undermining those cases. It is important that public authorities are allowed to fully investigate any allegations of improper conduct without fear of any speculation entering the public domain and undermining the investigation. The Police Service is charged with enforcing the law, preventing, and detecting crime and protecting the communities we serve. Disclosing details of ongoing investigations would impact on the effectiveness of police procedures and investigations, thereby hindering the prevention and detection of crime.
Section 31 - Factors favouring disclosure
The disclosure of details relating to investigations involving Police Officers would provide the public with reassurance that Warwickshire Police take such matters seriously and that these are managed appropriately, ensuring all relevant enquiries are undertaken. Additionally, the disclosure of investigation details would increase public confidence and could result in more people coming forward with information. Further, investigations are conducted using public funds; therefore, disclosing the requested information would provide transparency around the way public money is utilised.
Section 31 - Factors favouring non-disclosure
To release the requested information would undermine and compromise the force’s approach to law enforcement in relation to the investigation of such matters, as a consequence of which any investigation would be prejudiced. This would have an adverse effect not only on any individuals involved, but also on the force.
Balance Test
Any investigations which relate to police personnel, including the way in which these are conducted, will be of significant public interest. Therefore, providing the details would show openness and transparency which are fundamental elements of the Freedom of Information Act. Where victims and witnesses have confidence that enquiries are being appropriately managed, they would be more likely to come forward and report incidents.
The strongest argument for disclosure therefore is public awareness; however, this needs to be weighed against the strongest argument for non-disclosure, which in this case is effective law enforcement.
Effective law enforcement is the core function of the police service and is of paramount importance. Warwickshire Police has a duty to ensure that it does not disclose information that would undermine or compromise its approach to this core function, which would lead to an investigation being prejudiced and an individual’s right to a fair investigation being undermined. The police service will never disclose information that places the public or its staff at risk, unless the public interest in doing so is more powerful than that risk.
Therefore, at this time it is our opinion that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing information in relation to the ongoing case.
The following responses are therefore in relation to the 5 finalised cases, which relate to 7 officers.
Q1. Since 1 January 2018 and 20 March 2023, how many members of staff in your force have made a sexual harassment complaint against a fellow member of staff?
Q1 response: All 5 cases were as a result of complaints by fellow members of staff.
Q2. How many of the complaints made in the timeframe were upheld?
Q2 response: 4 cases were upheld.
Q3. What was the outcome of the upheld complaints? Outcomes can include but are not limited to verbal warning, written warning, suspension, or dismissal, or referral to criminal proceedings.
Q3 response:
X4 Reflective Practice
X1 Formal disciplinary action
Q4. If it does not push the request over the cost limit, please can you also include:
(i) The nature of the allegation
(ii) The gender and rank of the complainant
(iii) The gender and rank of the alleged perpetrator
Q4i response: Sexual Harassment
Q4ii response: Not held.
Qiii response: All male, x6 Constable and x1 Sgt or above.
Please be advised that, in order to avoid any further delay in providing you with a response to your request, the above data has been provided from information that was already centrally recorded, having previously been located by conducting a search for all conduct cases, recorded between 1st April 2018 to 16th February 2023, where the allegation type was recorded as ‘sexual harassment’, and the allegation related to serving officers.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided is as accurate as possible. However, it is important to note that the data has been extracted from several data sources used by forces for police purposes. The detail collected to respond specifically to your request is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Therefore, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are considered when interpreting the data.
Your attention is drawn to the below which details your right of complaint.
Should you have any further enquiries concerning this matter, please write or email the Freedom of Information Unit quoting the reference number above.
Yours sincerely
Freedom of Information Officer
Freedom of Information Unit
Warwickshire Police
PO Box 4
Leek Wootton
Warwickshire
CV35 7QB