POLICE officers have been issued with advice on professional conduct after an ombudsman report found they used degrading language towards an alleged domestic abuse victim.
Three officers have been issued with the advice to improve their conduct, as well as their handling of property, after a mobile phone seized during a man’s arrest recorded "degrading and inappropriate comments" made about him and his partner while he was in police custody.
A fourth officer was subject to measures designed to improve his performance following a Police Ombudsman investigation of the incident, which happened after the man was arrested at his home in December 2022.
After listening to the recording, the man made a complaint to the Police Ombudsman’s Office and submitted a seven-hour excerpt in which officers referred to a suspected victim of domestic violence as “mental”, possibly suffering from “post-natal depression” and requiring hospitalisation.
The Ombudsman recommended that the PSNI should hold misconduct meetings with all four officers, however this was not accepted by the PSNI’s Professional Standards Department, which decided instead to hold a misconduct meeting with one officer and offer advice to the other three.
“The officers had been unaware that the man’s phone had been recording audio from before his arrest and throughout his time in police custody,” a spokesperson for the Ombudsman office confirmed.
“The recording included several concerning comments and revealed issues with how officers had dealt with the phone after it was seized at the time of the man’s arrest,” they added.
Hugh Hume, CEO for the office of the Police Ombudsman, said that while the comments were made by police officers “outside of a public setting”, they “nonetheless reflect attitudes and behaviours that are entirely unacceptable”.
“It is particularly concerning that such degrading remarks were directed towards a woman reporting to be a victim of domestic abuse,” he added.
“This serves as a reminder that police officers should always act with compassion, professionalism and integrity.”
The Ombudsman’s investigators also found that the mobile phone taken from the man the officers had arrested had not been packaged, labelled or stored in accordance with PSNI policy.
It had also been taken out of the police station while he was in custody, and there was no clear record of its movements while in police possession.
“This is another case in which we identified that police officers failed to deal appropriately with an electronic device,” said Mr Hume.
“The protection of personal data and the preservation of potential digital evidence is of critical importance, yet we have a number of cases involving concerns that police procedures governing this area are not being followed.”
The investigators also examined an allegation that an officer had encouraged a colleague to destroy the mobile phone out of fear it might be recording.
Another officer was heard to respond, “what a way to get sacked”.
The officer who made the initial comment about damaging the phone was interviewed under criminal caution on suspicion of attempting, or encouraging someone else, to break the device.
A file was submitted to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) which directed that the officer would not be prosecuted.
Responding to the Ombudsman’s report, Detective Superintendent Julie Mullan, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Professional Standards Department, said: “We have received the report from the Ombudsman and acknowledge its findings.
“The Police Service of Northern Ireland and the public expect police officers to investigate incidents fully, fairly and professionally,” she added.
“Where it is perceived that conduct falls short of these high standards, it is right that officers should face an impartial, thorough enquiry by the Police Ombudsman’s office.
“As a result of the investigation, three police officers have been issued with advice to improve their conduct, while a fourth officer was subject to measures designed to improve performance.”
She added: “While in this instance the conduct of the officers fell short of the standards that we have set, it is not representative of the excellent work police officers carry out across Northern Ireland on a daily basis as we strive to keep people safe.”
See More: PSNI, Police Ombudsman For Northern Ireland
