懲戒免職受けた英警察官、１年で約６００人　前年比５０％増

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】英国で５日、イングランドとウェールズで今年３月までの１年間で懲戒免職処分を受けた警察官は前年度の３９４人から５０％増となる６００人近くに上るとの報告書を独立公共機関である警察大学校が発表した。一連の不祥事を受け、警察幹部は市民の信頼回復に努めている。（写真は資料写真）
　イングランドとウェールズでは、４３の警察組織に１４万７０００人以上の警察官が所属している。
　懲戒免職処分を受けた６００人近くのうち７４人は、性犯罪や職権乱用によるもので、１８人は児童のわいせつ画像所持が理由だった。最も多いのは不正行為で１２５人。７１人は差別行為が理由だった。
　２０２１年にロンドン警視庁の現職警察官がサラ・エバラードさんを誘拐・レイプ・殺害し、終身刑を言い渡された事件以降、英国警察の評判は地に落ちている。
　昨年も、ロンドン警視庁の警察官が女性１２人に対するレイプを含め、７１件の性犯罪で３６回の終身刑を言い渡されるショッキングな事件が起きた。
　警察大学校のトム・ハーディング本部長補はこうした事態について、「極めて残念だ」としつつ、免職になった人数は「問題のある警察官を迅速に特定・対処する手続きが有効かつ強力」な証拠でもあるとの見方を示した。
　ロンドン警視庁は昨年１月、３万４０００人の警察官のうち１０７１人が家庭内暴力や女性・少女への暴力容疑で捜査対象となっていると公表していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/11/05-17:25）

Nearly 600 police officers in England and Wales were sacked in the year to March 2024, figures showed Tuesday, as police chiefs battle to restore public confidence after a string of scandals.
The sackings -- a 50 percent rise on the 394 dismissed the previous year -- include 74 officers kicked out of policing for sexual offences and misconduct.
Another 18 officers were dismissed for possessing indecent images of children, according to the figures compiled by the College of Policing, an independent public body.
The reputation of policing in the UK has been left in tatters since the 2021 kidnap, rape and murder of marketing executive Sarah Everard by a serving officer in London's Metropolitan Police who was later jailed for the rest of his life.
In another shocking case, an officer from the same unit last year received 36 life sentences for a monstrous string of 71 sexual offences, including rapes against 12 women.
The most common reason for dismissal, with 125 cases, was dishonesty, according to the latest figures. Another 71 were forced out for discriminatory behaviour.
Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding of the College of Policing said it was hugely disappointing to see the conduct of a number of officers falling far below the standard that we set... and which the public rightly expects.
But he said the number being sacked was also an indication of the effective, robust procedures in place to identify and deal with these officers swiftly.
Their behaviour tarnishes policing and erodes public trust, he added.
In January 2023, the Met revealed that 1,071 officers in the 34,000-strong force had been under investigation for domestic abuse and violence against women and girls.
England and Wales has a police workforce of more than 147,000 across the 43 forces.