Over 100 officers dismissed from West Midlands Police since 2020
More than 730 police officers were sacked and barred from returning to the service last year in the UK, according to the Collage of Policing
Over 100 West Midlands police officers have been dismissed in the past five years.
In the last year alone, 37 officers in the region were sacked and barred from returning to the service according to the latest figures revealed by the Collage of Policing.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster, says it's important that misconduct is swiftly dealt with to maintain trust with the public.
PCC Simon Foster said: "It's important that all and any police and staff misconduct is dealt with in accordance with due process and the law.
"All police officers and staff have a duty to comply with the highest standards of conduct, ethics, integrity and professionalism; that is essential to maintain trust and confidence in the police service.
"If any police officers that are incapable of grasping or understanding that basic principle then there is no place for them within our police service."
West Midlands Police Chief Constable Craig Guildford, who is also the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Professional Standards, said: “The vast majority of Police Officers and Staff serve the public with distinction, day in and day out regardless of the personal challenges they can often face.
“Police Chiefs are committed to rooting out the tiny minority who betray our professional standards and badly let the public and their colleagues down.
“Changes to misconduct regulations have helped policing to determine the facts of a case more quickly, remove or sanction those guilty of serious gross misconduct, and exonerate the innocent. This data shows that where grounds have been met to carry out accelerated misconduct hearings, the overwhelming majority ended in an expeditious dismissal, or would have ended in dismissal had the officer still been employed in policing.
"Whilst every example is uncomfortable and difficult, each action we take to detect and deter misconduct is a demonstration of our values, our intolerance of those who don’t uphold them, and our unrelenting determination to uphold the highest standards of professional behaviour.
“It is very pleasing that the vast majority of wrong-doing is actually called-out by our employees as Upstanders not Bystanders. Each case always turns on its own facts and fairness to all concerned is paramount."
According to the College of Policing, 735 officers were placed on the barred list in the year to March 31 2025, up from 593 the previous year, across the UK.
The latest figures for the police barred list include categories for the reason for sacking, with 1,149 recorded in total, as multiple reasons can apply to one case.
The most common reasons given for dismissal were dishonesty (126), discriminatory behaviour (95), unlawful access or disclosure of information (82), inappropriate communications (81), and sexual offences or misconduct (72).
Other cases involved abuse of position for a sexual purpose (31), child sexual offence (21), being in a discriminatory WhatsApp group (45), domestic abuse or harassment (26), and drugs (44).
Most of the officers added to the list were constables (640), but one chief officer and two chief superintendents were also among those kicked out.