The number of Norfolk police officers facing misconduct investigations rose by almost 50pc last year, amid rising fears over the number of so-called 'bad apples' in the force.
A total of 57 officers underwent the disciplinary procedure in 2022, an increase of 43pc on the previous year.
The data comes at a time when public confidence in the police is falling, having been shaken by several scandals in recent years, including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens and the conviction of another Met officer David Carrick for sex offences.
While most high profile scandals have involved the Met Police, there have also been a series of local cases to hit the headlines, including policemen accused of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
Neal Porter, a former police response officer based at Wymondham, George Ince, a Great Yarmouth-based officer, were both also dismissed over indecent images.
Despite the increase in numbers of Norfolk officers facing misconduct hearings, only two were sacked from the force prompting concerns that police chiefs do not have sufficient powers to dismiss rogue officers.
In January, the Home Office launched a review to ensure the disciplinary process was effective in removing officers whose behaviour falls way below expected standards.
Paul Sanford, Norfolk's chief constable, is among those to back calls for changes that would make it easier to dismiss officers over their conduct, and admitted there were still serving officers who should not be in his force.
"We are looking to speed up our misconduct processes,” said Mr Sanford. "Like all chiefs, I am very keen to see changes to the associated regulations, so chiefs would have powers to more rapidly dismiss people who cross the line.
"Do I think we have a situation like the Met Police are experiencing? No. Do I think there are officers in every force in the county who should not be in those forces? Yes, I do."
He has vowed to implement findings from the independent review of policing by Baroness Louise Casey which was launched in the wake of the Met scandals.
The report found complainants against Met Police officers were not believed and racist, misogynist and homophobic acts were tolerated, ignored, or dismissed as ‘banter’.
She also warned there may be more officers like killer Couzens and serial rapist Carrick.
Norfolk police and crime commissioner Giles Orpen-Smellie said the shocking report was “measured, fair but hard-hitting” and that a copy will be on his desk as a “living document” to measure his force against.
He has ordered the constabulary to go through it “line by line” and prepare an action plan to "act proactively”, he told a meeting of Norfolk Police and Crime Panel.
“The report may have been written about the Met but I am treating it as a report on policing as a whole,” he said.
In total, out of the 57 conduct cases recorded by Norfolk police professional standards department last year two led to officers being subject of misconduct hearings, the most serious where officers can be sacked without notice.
Lesser misconduct meetings were also held over 10 officers which resulted in two receiving final written warnings and four getting written warnings.
Other investigations may still be ongoing.
PC Daniel Comfort who shared “grossly offensive” Whatsapp messages, including an antisemitic joke about Auschwitz, in a group that also included Couzens, would have been dismissed had he not already resigned.
A second officer was also formally dismissed after a misconduct panel found he had behaved inappropriately towards colleagues.
Misconduct meetings were also held over 10 officers which resulted in two receiving final written warnings and four getting written warnings.
Earlier this year it was revealed that 10 investigations were being undertaken into alleged cases of sexual abuse and three incidents of domestic violence involving Norfolk police officers and staff.
That comes on top of five officers having been sacked and 12 have been given warnings in the previous three years.
Police forces including Norfolk, which has more than 1,800 officers, were told to check all serving officers against national crime databases earlier this year to root out officers unfit to serve who had “slipped through the net” before vetting standards were toughened.
"Policing cannot be complacent about this issue. There won't be a police force in the country not affected by the Casey review,” said Mr Sanford.
"Like all forces, we are data-washing the details of all our officers and staff with the national database, to ensure there have been no behaviours we have missed before or since people have joined us.
"We are looking to speed up our misconduct processes.”
Analysis - How do 'bad apple' police stay in the job?
Public confidence in policing has been rocked in recent years by scandals like those involving Wayne Couzens and David Carrick, both serving Met Police officers but whose cases have cast a shadow over every force in the land.
The issue is rising up the agenda in Norfolk, where the Constabulary has endured its own scandals and where the latest figures show an increase in misconduct investigations.
Those at the top of the force are making the right noises. Both the chief constable Paul Sanford and police and crime commissioner Giles Orpen-Smellie have embraced the recent Casey review into the Met scandals.
One of the report's key findings was the concern over the low numbers of rogue officers actually being dismissed.
It found evidence of officers facing multiple allegations of misconduct who managed to remain in their jobs.
It is this sense, more than anything else, that is sapping public support: not just the idea that there are one or two rogue officers out there, waiting to be collared, but that there are officers frequently being collared but allowed to remain in their jobs.
It would be fatal for public confidence in the police - and for law and order more generally - for the idea to take root that rogue officers are 'untouchable' - that even when caught out they are not booted out.
The fact that only two Norfolk officers were sacked last year does not fill us with confidence.
Senior police officers often complain that their hands are tied. Getting rid of 'bad apple' officers is not easy.
Their employment rights and protections - while obviously important - can make it extremely difficult to get rid of them.
Mr Sanford has backed calls for more powers to sack misbehaving officers.
Critics have suggested the role and power of the Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers and whose reps and branch officers have salaries paid for by the force, can make this harder.
Nationally, the amount the Federation spends on legal fees has increased by around 25pc in the last five years.
Its national chair Steve Hartshorn became the first head of a major police body to publicly accept Casey’s report, while admitting “some of my colleagues will probably not like the fact that I’m accepting there are institutional failings”.
The Police Federation must show that it is just as committed to rooting out and throwing out rogue coppers as the top brass seem to be.
If not, the consequences will be just as damaging for the police as they will be for the public.
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