A record number of police have been barred from forces across the UK in the past year, with 195 Metropolitan police dismissed and banned from ever serving again.
With the largest workforce in the UK at 31,500, the Met had the highest number of dismissals, followed by Greater Manchester Police and West Midlands Police.
Sophie Khan, Director of Legal & Policy at the Police Action Centre, a charity working on police misconduct, told City News: “the high number of dismissals at the Met Police demonstrates that the culture within the Met Police has yet to change and that misconduct remains a significant problem that still needs to be addressed”.
According to latest figures, between April 2025 and March 2026, the total number of police staff and officers dismissed was 757, up from 735 in 2024/25 and 594 in 2023/24.
This is the highest single number recorded in 12 months since the College of Policing Barred List began in 2017. With 3,591 officers or staff added in total since its introduction just under a decade ago, the annual report was introduced as part of the government’s commitment to improving police integrity.
Source: College of Policing for England and Wales
The College of Policing sets out different reasons for the barring of officers and staff.
Dishonesty was the most common reason for dismissal with 142 cases, followed by discriminatory behaviour in 110 cases. There were 87 cases involving sexual offences or sexual misconduct, including six involving child sexual abuse, five involving rape and 46 involving abuse of position for a sexual purpose.
When examining rank, 641 of those barred were police constables, 84 sergeants, 18 inspectors, five chief inspectors, five superintendents and four chief superintendents, displaying dismissals across all levels of authority.
In response to the report, Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson, Director of Operational Standards at the College of Policing said “Policing is built on trust and these figures show we will not hesitate to act when that trust is broken.
“This represents 0.5% of all serving officers, with the vast majority of officers serving with courage, professionalism and integrity”.
Last month, the Metropolitan Police banned two officers: Mark Tyrell served in the same command as Wayne Couzens, the officer that kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard in 2021. Tyrell, who had been trained to support rape victims, was found guilty of rape, sexual assault and perverting the court of justice on 27 October. James Deller, former Head of the Metropolitan Police’s Special Constabulary, leading the force’s volunteers, was sacked on 10 October, after Palantir’s AI system uncovered that he had sexual images of a woman on his police-issues work phone.
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Headline195 Met Police barred from service in the past year
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StandfirstThe College of Policing's Barred List shows the Metropolitan Police leads in dismissals for breaching professional standards
A record number of police have been barred from forces across the UK in the past year, with 195 Metropolitan police dismissed and banned from ever serving again.
With the largest workforce in the UK at 31,500, the Met had the highest number of dismissals, followed by Greater Manchester Police and West Midlands Police.
Sophie Khan, Director of Legal & Policy at the Police Action Centre, a charity working on police misconduct, told City News: “the high number of dismissals at the Met Police demonstrates that the culture within the Met Police has yet to change and that misconduct remains a significant problem that still needs to be addressed”.
According to latest figures, between April 2025 and March 2026, the total number of police staff and officers dismissed was 757, up from 735 in 2024/25 and 594 in 2023/24.
This is the highest single number recorded in 12 months since the College of Policing Barred List began in 2017. With 3,591 officers or staff added in total since its introduction just under a decade ago, the annual report was introduced as part of the government’s commitment to improving police integrity.
Source: College of Policing for England and Wales
The College of Policing sets out different reasons for the barring of officers and staff.
Dishonesty was the most common reason for dismissal with 142 cases, followed by discriminatory behaviour in 110 cases. There were 87 cases involving sexual offences or sexual misconduct, including six involving child sexual abuse, five involving rape and 46 involving abuse of position for a sexual purpose.
When examining rank, 641 of those barred were police constables, 84 sergeants, 18 inspectors, five chief inspectors, five superintendents and four chief superintendents, displaying dismissals across all levels of authority.
In response to the report, Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson, Director of Operational Standards at the College of Policing said “Policing is built on trust and these figures show we will not hesitate to act when that trust is broken.
“This represents 0.5% of all serving officers, with the vast majority of officers serving with courage, professionalism and integrity”.
Last month, the Metropolitan Police banned two officers: Mark Tyrell served in the same command as Wayne Couzens, the officer that kidnapped, raped and murdered Sarah Everard in 2021. Tyrell, who had been trained to support rape victims, was found guilty of rape, sexual assault and perverting the court of justice on 27 October. James Deller, former Head of the Metropolitan Police’s Special Constabulary, leading the force’s volunteers, was sacked on 10 October, after Palantir’s AI system uncovered that he had sexual images of a woman on his police-issues work phone.
