Latest news with #CollegeofPolicing
BBC News
20 hours ago
- BBC News
Former Essex PC offered services on adult website while off duty
A former police officer would have been sacked without notice had he not already resigned from the force, a misconduct hearing has found. Ex-PC Clive Wilson, from Essex Police, was found to have made posts offering services in return for payment on an adult website while off was no evidence to suggest any service was given or money received, but he had also not entered an outside business interest to the hearing accepted that his actions were not financially motivated. It found Ex-PC Wilson would have been dismissed without notice had he not already left the force. He was also placed on the College of Policing barred Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: "It is unacceptable to breach orders and instructions and bring the force into disrepute."Working in the sex industry is not compatible with being a police officer."The risks of bribery and corruption and damage to public trust and confidence are real and unacceptable."Both the public and the force expect highest standards of officers, on and off duty."
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Britain is running out of patience with our woefully incompetent police
You see it in the failure to confront the grooming gangs – where fear of being labelled racist or Islamophobic meant that young, white, working-class girls were left to be raped, assaulted, and even killed. You see it in the symbolic and politicised gestures of recent years: officers taking the knee for Black Lives Matter, wearing rainbow lanyards, flying Progress Pride flags above police stations, and daubing rainbows on faces, uniforms, and patrol cars. And you see it in the collapse of public confidence as the fight against crime and disorder shudders to a halt. This isn't just a cultural drift – it's a failure of leadership. The College of Policing, part of Theresa May's botched policing reforms of the 2010s, was supposed to be the profession's North Star – driving up standards and improving service to the public. Instead, it has failed to earn the trust of frontline officers and has arguably done more to undermine effective policing than support it. It was therefore striking to see Sir Andy Marsh QPM, head of the College and former Chief Constable, recently rebrand himself in an interview as a champion of common sense and crime-fighting zeal. Marsh called for a crackdown on cannabis – something any right-thinking citizen can support. The stench of this psychosis-inducing, life-wrecking drug should be sufficient to motivate chiefs to tackle it. But it was the College that issued wrong-headed guidance telling officers the smell of cannabis alone shouldn't justify a stop and search. Marsh invoked former NYPD and LAPD Commissioner Bill Bratton and the 'broken windows' approach. Yet neither Marsh nor the College has previously spoken in favour of it. In fact, the College's own guidance still claims such policing 'has not had a statistically significant effect on crime.' He claims policing needs to 'refocus on enforcing the law' – but this from the man who oversaw officers standing by as a mob in Bristol toppled and dumped the statue of Edward Colston. In the aftermath, Marsh defended the inaction: 'Can you imagine scenes of police in Bristol fighting with protesters who were damaging the statue of a man who is reputed to have gathered much of his fortune through the slave trade?' Yes. That's what the rule of law demands. Instead, Marsh signalled that enforcing the law was optional if it might look bad. Marsh also extols the virtues of neighbourhood policing, calling it 'one of the basic foundations of our ability to tackle crime.' Yet the College has been instrumental to defanging the bobby on the beat. Its 37-page neighbourhood policing guidelines for bobbies reference 'enforcement' just twice, and only to warn it may 'deliver some short-term results' or be 'counterproductive.' 'Engagement,' by contrast, is mentioned 29 times and enshrined as 'Guideline #1.' A colleague at The Public Safety Foundation recently had his car broken into. The local police have known for over six months that the area is a hotspot. Yet instead of proactive policing (stops, searches, arrests) the local team offered 'engagement.' The combination of a huge surge in recruitment, sub-par training, and shoddy guidance – all signed off by the College – means policing is rapidly forgetting its purpose. Marsh now claims to be opposed to policing aligning itself with activist causes, but for years he wore rainbow lanyards and even said he'd support police officers taking the knee for Black Lives Matters. And, when a former Home Secretary – Suella Braverman – rightly called on policing to step away from contested and divisive political agendas, the College was barely to be heard. No guidance. No support. No leadership. Sir Andy's recent interview may ring hollow – but it's a useful weather vane. It suggests police chiefs – many steeped in progressive dogma – are starting to realise the tide is turning, or at least that they must become more covert. They likely don't realise it, but they have four years to show that British policing is back on the side of the law-abiding – and worthy of public trust and funding. If not, the next general election will likely command a full factory reset of this vital institution. One that is fundamental to the first duty of government: keeping the public safe from crime and disorder
Leader Live
18-06-2025
- Leader Live
Met Police tutor dismissed after biting student on neck and touching her thigh
Pc Chris Lee, who was a street duties instructor/tutor on one of the force's Borough Command Units, also touched the bottom of the student's back in a pub just three weeks into her course, a misconduct panel said. He then texted the student after an end of course drinks event saying it was 'important to have a good time at work' and that she 'just didn't get' his behaviour. Pc Lee had joined the Met in 2018, while the student was working on the unit and had began her course in October 2021. There was a 'jovial culture' on the unit with tutors and students often going out for drinks together, as was the case when they went to the pub after work on November 5 2021, the panel said. Pc Lee first put his hand on the student's thigh while she was sitting next to him in the pub. As she then leaned across him later in the evening, the tutor then bit her on the left side of her neck, causing the student to say 'he just bit me', the panel said. The student later said in evidence that the bite was 'not that hard' and did not leave a mark, but that she had 'felt teeth not lips'. The tutor stated in evidence that he had consumed six or seven pints of beer that evening, and was drunk at the time of the incidents but still 'bodily capable'. He accepted he had touched the student's thigh and kissed her on the neck, but denied touching her back and biting her. But the panel found both of the disputed allegations proven on the balance of probabilities, and that Pc Lee's conduct was sexual and inappropriate in nature as he was attracted to the student. A discussion involving Pc Lee and the student about favourite tutors then took place at the end of course drinks several weeks later, again at a pub, on December 3 2021, the panel said. When his name was not mentioned, the tutor said to the student 'What did you just say', 'Who are your favourite tutors', and 'We got you your IPS (Independent Patrol Status) they didn't'. The following day, Pc Lee sent the student a text about the discussion which said: 'I'm sorry you felt we were rude but we were not intentionally, that's our personalities together and I think it's important to have a good time at work. 'At no point did we every say anything rude against you and I'm sorry you felt that we were rude. 'You just didn't get us which is fine.' The comments made by Pc Lee towards the student at the pub were found by the panel to be humiliating for her. They found the tutor's overall behaviour in both incidents together amounted to gross misconduct, as it breached the force's Standards of Professional Behaviour. Pc Lee was subsequently dismissed without notice at a misconduct hearing and placed on the College of Policing barred list.
Rhyl Journal
18-06-2025
- Rhyl Journal
Met Police tutor dismissed after biting student on neck and touching her thigh
Pc Chris Lee, who was a street duties instructor/tutor on one of the force's Borough Command Units, also touched the bottom of the student's back in a pub just three weeks into her course, a misconduct panel said. He then texted the student after an end of course drinks event saying it was 'important to have a good time at work' and that she 'just didn't get' his behaviour. Pc Lee had joined the Met in 2018, while the student was working on the unit and had began her course in October 2021. There was a 'jovial culture' on the unit with tutors and students often going out for drinks together, as was the case when they went to the pub after work on November 5 2021, the panel said. Pc Lee first put his hand on the student's thigh while she was sitting next to him in the pub. As she then leaned across him later in the evening, the tutor then bit her on the left side of her neck, causing the student to say 'he just bit me', the panel said. The student later said in evidence that the bite was 'not that hard' and did not leave a mark, but that she had 'felt teeth not lips'. The tutor stated in evidence that he had consumed six or seven pints of beer that evening, and was drunk at the time of the incidents but still 'bodily capable'. He accepted he had touched the student's thigh and kissed her on the neck, but denied touching her back and biting her. But the panel found both of the disputed allegations proven on the balance of probabilities, and that Pc Lee's conduct was sexual and inappropriate in nature as he was attracted to the student. A discussion involving Pc Lee and the student about favourite tutors then took place at the end of course drinks several weeks later, again at a pub, on December 3 2021, the panel said. When his name was not mentioned, the tutor said to the student 'What did you just say', 'Who are your favourite tutors', and 'We got you your IPS (Independent Patrol Status) they didn't'. The following day, Pc Lee sent the student a text about the discussion which said: 'I'm sorry you felt we were rude but we were not intentionally, that's our personalities together and I think it's important to have a good time at work. 'At no point did we every say anything rude against you and I'm sorry you felt that we were rude. 'You just didn't get us which is fine.' The comments made by Pc Lee towards the student at the pub were found by the panel to be humiliating for her. They found the tutor's overall behaviour in both incidents together amounted to gross misconduct, as it breached the force's Standards of Professional Behaviour. Pc Lee was subsequently dismissed without notice at a misconduct hearing and placed on the College of Policing barred list.
North Wales Chronicle
18-06-2025
- North Wales Chronicle
Met Police tutor dismissed after biting student on neck and touching her thigh
Pc Chris Lee, who was a street duties instructor/tutor on one of the force's Borough Command Units, also touched the bottom of the student's back in a pub just three weeks into her course, a misconduct panel said. He then texted the student after an end of course drinks event saying it was 'important to have a good time at work' and that she 'just didn't get' his behaviour. Pc Lee had joined the Met in 2018, while the student was working on the unit and had began her course in October 2021. There was a 'jovial culture' on the unit with tutors and students often going out for drinks together, as was the case when they went to the pub after work on November 5 2021, the panel said. Pc Lee first put his hand on the student's thigh while she was sitting next to him in the pub. As she then leaned across him later in the evening, the tutor then bit her on the left side of her neck, causing the student to say 'he just bit me', the panel said. The student later said in evidence that the bite was 'not that hard' and did not leave a mark, but that she had 'felt teeth not lips'. The tutor stated in evidence that he had consumed six or seven pints of beer that evening, and was drunk at the time of the incidents but still 'bodily capable'. He accepted he had touched the student's thigh and kissed her on the neck, but denied touching her back and biting her. But the panel found both of the disputed allegations proven on the balance of probabilities, and that Pc Lee's conduct was sexual and inappropriate in nature as he was attracted to the student. A discussion involving Pc Lee and the student about favourite tutors then took place at the end of course drinks several weeks later, again at a pub, on December 3 2021, the panel said. When his name was not mentioned, the tutor said to the student 'What did you just say', 'Who are your favourite tutors', and 'We got you your IPS (Independent Patrol Status) they didn't'. The following day, Pc Lee sent the student a text about the discussion which said: 'I'm sorry you felt we were rude but we were not intentionally, that's our personalities together and I think it's important to have a good time at work. 'At no point did we every say anything rude against you and I'm sorry you felt that we were rude. 'You just didn't get us which is fine.' The comments made by Pc Lee towards the student at the pub were found by the panel to be humiliating for her. They found the tutor's overall behaviour in both incidents together amounted to gross misconduct, as it breached the force's Standards of Professional Behaviour. Pc Lee was subsequently dismissed without notice at a misconduct hearing and placed on the College of Policing barred list.
