Force has sacked 65 staff for sexual misconduct

A police force says it has sacked 65 officers or staff since 2020 after sexual misconduct was proven against them.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) is the largest non-metropolitan force in England and Wales and has periodically published reports of sexual misconduct relating to its employees since 2024.

It said by the end of September, 129 officers or staff had been sanctioned, with measures varying from dismissal to being told to undertake reflective practice.

The force said the reports had been published to "improve confidence in reporting these matters".

In addition to the 65 employees who have been dismissed since 2020, 15 were given final written warnings. Another 15 were given written warnings.

Two were demoted and 32 officers or staff were told to undertake reflective practice.

John Thirlway, who was a constable in Oxford, was sacked last year after he told a colleague that he would like to have sex with her and made suggestive comments about her and a member of the public.

The force said the number of officers it employed had increased by about a third since April 2020.

It said it had about 4,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) officers then, but had nearly 6,000 in mid-October.

Its number of staff has also increased from about 3,400, six-and-a-half years ago, to 4,130 earlier this month.