Suffolk Police Leadership Pledges Action Against Misogyny and Sexual Abuse

Senior police officials have emphasized their dedication to eradicating workplace misogyny and sexual misconduct within their department. Tim Passmore, Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC), and Chief Constable Rachel Kearton were questioned regarding this matter following multiple recent incidents involving police personnel. During an exclusive interview with Sarah Lilley of BBC Radio Suffolk, both individuals stated that such conduct was intolerable, yet they asserted it was not prevalent throughout the force. Mr. Passmore commented, “I absolutely know that 99.9% of people within Suffolk Police are diligent, professional, caring and extremely well behaved.” The previous month, PC Stuart Barney retained his position despite having pinged a colleague’s bra and told another, “you can sit on my face.” Additionally, he was found to have made remarks concerning female colleagues’ breasts and inflicted “psychological harm” through “intimidating and humiliating” actions. Concurrently, in June, the BBC reported that a senior police officer, identified only as ‘Y’, was dismissed from service after engaging in sexual activity with subordinate colleagues. In July, Ipswich Crown Court heard testimony detailing how Ryan Althorpe, who previously served as a temporary sergeant, had behaved in a sexually inappropriate manner towards an alleged rape victim. Althorpe, residing at Meadow Crescent, Ipswich, received a 10-month prison sentence after the judge stated he had “exploited and traumatised” the woman. Ms. Kearton stated: “Are we where I would like us to be? No, we are not, otherwise we wouldn’t be having those headlines.“But what we have had in the last two and a half years are a number of cases that have dealt with a culture that I think has been long-standing for some time.” She indicated that she initiated efforts to implement cultural changes upon assuming her role in 2022. She remarked, “There’s more work to do but I’ve come from a background of 35 years in the police service and I’ve seen it significantly change across the years.” She mentioned that throughout her 35 years, across different forces, she had encountered remarks and actions from both men and women “that wouldn’t be the most professional.” “But at Suffolk Police I am immensely proud of the people I work with and the efforts they go to change the culture.“They know how to challenge poor behaviour, even if that is upwards into the hierarchy – there is still a place for that to be called out to be dealt with immediately,” she added. Mr. Passmore, who has served as Suffolk’s Conservative PCC since 2012, pledged severe action against anyone discovered engaging in improper conduct. He stated, “I don’t think Suffolk has got a big problem but I am not for a moment saying there aren’t individual cases.” “In any large organisation with 2,500 people, sadly, there will be one or two badly behaved individuals who should jolly well know better.“What I do know is the constabulary does not tolerate abusive and misogynistic behaviour and there is no place for that in policing in Suffolk.“We are not going to put up with this and when this happens these people are quite rightly dealt with severely and, if necessary, are dismissed from the service.“The culture of behaving properly is absolutely crucial,” he concluded. For updates on Suffolk news, follow BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram, and X. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. Information regarding their approach to external linking is available.