Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: “I very much welcome the announcement of the Police Ombudsman’s investigation into a former police officer and will continue to assist in every way possible. It is essential for public confidence in policing that any and all lines of enquiry are fully investigated by the Police Ombudsman.
“To that end, I appeal to anyone who has any information whatsoever to come forward to assist the Ombudsman. This former officer left policing some 15 years ago but we must not be complacent, there is no place for such behaviours anywhere in society, moreover in policing. We are here to protect people, not breach their trust.
“Any abuse of position for sexual purposes is wholly unacceptable. It represents a serious breach of trust and a violation of the high standards rightly expected of police officers.
“I want to reassure everyone that significant work has been undertaken in the PSNI since 2011 to further strengthen professional standards, vetting, misconduct reporting processes and to ensure learning from past failures.
“In the wake of the murder of Sarah Everard and the sexual offences committed by David Carrick and Wayne Couzens, both Metropolitan police officers, the PSNI undertook a review of historical investigations relating to 134 officers over a 10-year period regarding concerns about their conduct. This review made many recommendations and identified gaps in individual investigations and PSNI’s safeguarding response between 2012 and 2022. In addition, a number of thematic issues were identified which have been addressed to ensure organisational learning. We will be writing to the Northern Ireland Policing Board, Department of Justice and the Police Ombudsman’s Office and providing a detailed update on this review known as Operation Roric.
“I had already shown my determination to shine a light on and better understand the true extent of sexism and misogyny within the PSNI to ensure our organisation is as effective as possible in ending such behaviours. I commissioned an independent review of our performance and internal behaviour regarding these issues by Rachel Langdale KC. The Langdale Review examined the PSNI’s operational response to Violence Against Women and Girls, it also included an internal examination of sexism and misogyny and the effectiveness of our professional standards processes in dealing with such issues. I will be making the results of that review available in April.
“Sexism, misogyny and wider unacceptable behaviours were also a specific area of focus in our recent Workforce Inclusion Survey conducted in the Autumn of 2025. The survey examined the effectiveness of our internal reporting mechanisms, positively it showed that a significantly higher proportion of our workforce would report inappropriate behaviour compared with forces in England and Wales. Such behaviours should be reported by everyone whenever they emerge, such reporting is the best form of prevention.
“We have also reinforced our policy and guidance relating to abuse of position for sexual purposes and we are unequivocal that such behaviour will not be tolerated. We will find anyone who behaves in this way and we will use the full force of the law to deal with them.
“In August 2024, we issued a formal Statement of Action/Intent on Conduct and Standards in relation to Violence Against Women and Girls. Reaffirming our zero tolerance for sexual violence, abuse of position for sexual gain, harassment, domestic abuse, bullying or discriminatory behaviour of any kind, including conduct carried out via social media or messaging platforms. Through it, each of our officers and staff have personally signalled their personal commitment to this issue.
“As part of our leadership commitment, we also developed a supervisors’ briefing which has been issued across the organisation outlining the warning signs of abuse of position for sexual purposes and the circumstances in which it may arise. These briefings provide practical guidance on early identification and set out clear reporting routes.
“Moving forward, we will work ever harder with the Police Ombudsman and other key external stakeholders, including through the implementation of the independent Langdale Review, to ensure robust prevention, early identification and decisive action against predatory behaviour. There is no place for those who display such behaviour anywhere in society and especially not in the PSNI.
“I have spoken about this issue at a recent International Women’s Day event and at stakeholder engagement briefing on our newly revised Code of Ethics. We will not accept such behaviours and the Ombudsman can rely on our full support.
“The overwhelming majority of our officers and staff serve with integrity and dedication. Those officers and staff who will be more appalled by this recent announcement from the Ombudsman than anyone. This will hurt each one of our workforce who come into work every day to give their best and protect society. Whenever standards fall short, we will act decisively. Our focus is on protecting the vulnerable, maintaining public confidence and ensuring transparency and accountability in all that we do.”