Evaluating a UK police peer support reporting pathway for sexual misconduct

Rebecca Plimmer,* Jacqueline Hodgson,** Vanessa Munro** and Kimberley Wade*

This research evaluates a confidential internal reporting mechanism introduced in a police force in England and Wales as part of their professional behaviours and standards work. The scheme encourages police officers and staff to challenge and report inappropriate behaviour, and offers independent peer support for those who have witnessed or been a victim of sexual misconduct. We explore how staff and officers perceive their workplace culture; the drivers that shape this; their awareness of the new scheme; and barriers to challenging and reporting inappropriate behaviour.

In addition to several short pieces of observational fieldwork, semi-structured interviews with 9 police officers and 8 police staff were conducted. Police interviewees were asked about their policing background, their views on police culture and the new scheme in place. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes; the first centred around organisational identity both internally (i.e., police officer versus police staff), and externally (police versus media); the second focused on the importance of authenticity and trust, with informal reporting pathways (i.e., reporting to line managers) being favoured due to doubts about the trustworthiness of anonymous reporting mechanisms, and intentions of senior management.

The final theme notes how incidents of sexual and racial discrimination are still present in police culture but this is perceived to have diminished, possibly due to minimisation and an inherent distrust among colleagues. Nevertheless, there seems to be a cultural shift amongst those new in service to challenge inappropriate behaviour, even if it leads to conflicts amongst those of higher ranks. These findings offer unique insight and perspectives on the barriers to challenging inappropriate behaviour, and offer hope for future police reporting mechanisms, such as this one, that need to be rooted in psychological safety and trust in order to be effective.

*Department of Psychology, University of Warwick **School of Law, University of Warwick