JUST two of 96 sexual misconduct claims against on-duty cops have been upheld in the past five years, it has emerged.
Official stats released by Police Scotland on Friday show 114 allegations “involving a sexual circumstance” were made between 2018-19 and the end of this March.
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Of those, 18 were still listed as ongoing. And of the remaining 96, only two were listed as “upheld”.
One was marked as “concluded by explanation”, while the other led to “misconduct disposal”.
Scots Lib Dem MP and ex-cop Wendy Chamberlain urged the force’s Chief Constable Jo Farrell to review its complaints procedures.
She said: “These figures suggest that there are significant barriers in place to achieving justice.
“In the wake of the heinous crimes committed by serving officers Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, it’s clear police services across the UK need to get better at recognising patterns of behaviour and not allow bad apples to escape with a slap on the wrist.”
Of the 96 cases, 72 were not upheld for reasons that included a lack of evidence and “malicious” complaints, while 53 were not upheld after a procurator fiscal became involved.
Another 12 were marked as “abandoned” — such as when an officer leaves the force — and 10 complaints were “withdrawn”.
In February, former Met armed cop Carrick, 48, was caged for a minimum of 30 years after the serial rapist admitted 49 sex offences.
And a judge ordered that ex-Met constable Couzens, 51, will spend the rest of his life behind bars after he pled guilty to the horrific rape and murder of Sarah Everard, 33, in March 2021.
We told in June how the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) Bill going through Holyrood could stop cops from quitting to avoid disciplinary hearings for serious misconduct — and may see the outcome of probes being published.
Since 2019, around 50 officers have quit the force while disciplinary proceedings were ongoing.
Former Police Scotland Chief Constable Phil Gormley quit in 2018 amid an incomplete bullying investigation. He denied any wrongdoing.
The force’s temporary Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “Where there is a reasonable inference a crime may have been committed by an on-duty officer or staff member, a report is submitted to the Area Procurator Fiscal for consideration, regardless of the balance of evidence.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said the proposed ethics bill “demonstrates our commitment to change the police complaints and misconduct system”.
