Record number of officers sacked and barred from policing this year, with reasons ranging from rape and dishonesty to links to 'discriminatory' WhatsApp groups

Record numbers of police officers have been sacked in the past year as part of efforts to clean up constabularies, data has revealed.A total of 757 officers, including chief superintendents, were added to the barred list, preventing them from serving again.This includes 87 sacked for sexual offences or misconduct, of which five were rape, according to statistics from the College of Policing (CoP) for the year to March 2026. Some 142 officers were sacked for 'dishonesty', the most common reason cited, while another 110 were barred for discriminatory behaviour and 101 for unlawful access or disclosure of information.Those convicted of serious offences at court are automatically found to have committed gross misconduct and are routinely sacked.But today's figures also demonstrate a record number of officers being booted out for matters which might not pass a custodial threshold.For example, there were 24 occasions of an officer being barred for their connection to a 'discriminatory WhatsApp group', while five were found to have engaged in 'keyboard jamming' – a tactic used to fool a computer system into thinking the user is active when they are actually away.Two officers were sacked for posting pornographic material on the internet, while another officer was let go for 'bullying behaviour'. In the last year, 757 police officers have been added to the barred list, preventing them from serving againThe 757 total is slightly more than the 2024-25 high of 735, and includes officers who retired or resigned while under investigation. Assistant chief constable Arman Mathieson, CoP director of operational standards, said: 'Policing is built on trust, and these figures show we will not hesitate to act when that trust is broken.'This [the 757 officers] represents 0.5 per cent of all serving officers, with the vast majority of officers serving with courage, professionalism and integrity. We all deserve a service that roots out those who fall short.'Where standards are breached, we will find out, and we will act.'More than 3,500 officers have been added to the barred list since its introduction in December 2017, with police bosses looking to clean up their forces after high-profile cases undermined public faith.Chief among them is Wayne Couzens, the Met officer serving life for kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah Everard in March 2021.Serial rapist David Carrick was also jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years for his ‘catalogue of violent and brutal’ sex attacks between 2003 and 2020 against at least a dozen women.In terms of rank, 641 of those barred were police constables, 84 sergeants, 18 inspectors, five chief inspectors, five superintendents and four chief superintendents.The latter includes chief superintendent Matthew Thompson, who was sacked from Hertfordshire Police in February this year after he admitted lying to his line manager about the circumstances surrounding a personal relationship.And in April last year, chief superintendent Tom Simons was sacked over his behaviour, including having sex with women while on duty and abusing his seniority for a sexual purpose.The forces with the highest number of officers added were the Metropolitan Police with 195 (current workforce 31,495), Greater Manchester Police with 46 (workforce 8,234) and West Midlands Police with 38 (8,174).These three are the largest by workforce in England and Wales.In addition, 25 police specials were placed on the barred list in the year to the end of March 2026, down from 31 the previous year and 29 in 2023-24. Some 348 police staff were also sacked, up from 280 in 2024-25.