Force analysis: Bedfordshire Police
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We’ve analysed reports into investigations published into the conduct of officers and staff at Bedfordshire Police since the IOPC was formed in 2018.
In 3 of those reports, investigators found at least one officer or member of police staff had a case to answer for misconduct, and advised the force to hold a disciplinary panel.
In these cases, the IOPC identified 4 officer(s) and 0 police staff as having a case to answer for misconduct.
0 officer(s) and 0 staff had retired or left the force by the time the tribunal was held.
When the case was heard by the force’s tribunal, misconduct was proven against 2 officer(s) and 0 staff.
The force panel cleared 2 officer(s) and 0 staff
The outcomes were as follows:
- 2 officers and 0 staff faced no further action.
- 2 officers and 0 staff were given management action.
- 0 officers and 0 staff were given a written warning.
- 0 officers and 0 staff were dismissed.
None of the cases referred to death or serious injury having occurred shortly after contact with police
You can read the reports below.
Please note, these are only the cases where the IOPC judged there was a case to answer for misconduct. Also, in a small number of cases the total number of officers and staff identified did not match the number given sanctions. This is because the outcomes for those individuals were not listed in the report
Explore the cases
The table below shows misconduct cases involving this force.
The table does not contain the full text for the IOPC report. Please click on a link to see the full description of the case.
Breakdown of cases
The table below shows a breakdown of classifications of misconduct cases.
Every misconduct investigation carried out by the IOPC is given a broad ‘tag’ depending on the type of misconduct being investigated.
A single investigation can be given multiple tags, which is why there may be more tags than cases in the table listed below.
Percentages can therefore add up to more than 100% because one case can have more than one tag.
Investigations may be given tags for each force involved. In the table below we have not included the tag for this force, but tags for other forces may appear.
NB: The tags “child sexual abuse” and “domestic abuse” relate to the way the force handled inquiries into those matters and are not an accusation that the officer has been engaged in behaviour of that sort. Cases of sexually inappropriate behaviour are tagged under “corruption and abuse of power.”
IOPC recommendations
The IOPC has made 1 recommendation in relation to misconduct cases involving Bedfordshire Police. This was:
Recommendation to Bedfordshire PoliceThe IOPC recommends that Bedfordshire Police amend their stop and search record slips to include a question about whether force has been used. The slips should also state where information about the type of force will be recorded.  During this stop and search, a young black man was restrained in a public area using handcuffs and PAVA (incapacitant spray). Both police officers filled out stop and search and use of force forms and both failed to record that PAVA had been used during the encounter. This omission came to light as part of our investigation.  Recording whether force has been used on the stop and search record will improve both transparency and accountability. The person being stopped and searched can immediately challenge any omissions. Additionally, by capturing use of force on stop and search records, it will be easier to monitor and address any trends in the use of force during stops and searches.