Police officers suspended amid sexual misconduct claims
- Published
The PSNI is investigating 25 incidents, some of which involved officers on duty
Nineteen police officers are suspended from duties amid allegations of sexual misconduct, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has revealed.
Deputy chief constable Mark Hamilton said the statistic was "very uncomfortable".
The organisation is now looking into 25 cases, with some of them involving incidents while officers were on duty.
Fifteen of the suspensions have taken place in the last 12 months - treble the number of the year before.
The figures emerged at the February meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.
No specific details were given about the background to the cases.
'Taking a strong line'
Mr Hamilton said many of the allegations had been brought forward in the wake of the murder in London last March of Sarah Everard by an officer in the Metropolitan Police.
Another trigger had been a civilian PSNI employee, Sinead McGrotty, going public with her treatment by a serving detective.
He was fined £250 after he accepted an allegation of inappropriate touching.
As well as the suspensions, three officers have been re-positioned within the PSNI.
Mr Hamilton told the board the PSNI are "taking a very strong line" with the investigations and that the Police Ombudsman was also involved in some cases.
He said: "Hopefully, this will reassure the public that we are determined to root out sexual misconduct and misogyny in the service."
The PSNI currently has 7,000 officers and 2,500 civilian staff.