West Yorkshire Police officers dismissed over offensive WhatsApp messages

Eight West Yorkshire Police (WYP) officers have been dismissed following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into discriminatory, offensive and bullying messages shared on WhatsApp. 

We received a referral from the force in November 2021, after a number of officers raised concerns about the behaviour of a group of officers based in Pudsey, Leeds. While the investigation focused on the conduct of 12 officers involved in a WhatsApp conversation, some of the people we spoke to raised wider concerns about bullying behaviour within the team. 

Our investigation concluded in November 2022 and all 12 officers faced disciplinary proceedings. Eight had a case to answer for gross misconduct and at a hearing that concluded today (Friday), the disciplinary panel found a total of 67 allegations proven at the level of gross misconduct, a further 38 proven at the level of misconduct and 20 allegations were found not proven. All eight officers will be added to the police barred list to prevent them being employed in policing in the future.

Four officers had a case to answer for misconduct and, following separate proceedings earlier this year, one received a final written warning, two received written warnings, and one was required to undergo reflective practice. 

IOPC Regional Director Emily Barry said: “The disgraceful behaviour and attitudes we found in these messages are totally unacceptable and have no place in policing. Our investigation has ensured those responsible have received serious sanctions – and that the worst offenders will never again wear the uniform. 

“But this case is also a welcome sign of the shifting attitudes within policing to this kind of ‘canteen culture’. I am grateful to those officers who did the right thing by speaking up and exposing the toxicity within their own ranks. 

“This is not always easy to do. But calling out poor behaviour needs to become the norm – and that can only happen where colleagues know their concerns will be taken seriously and action taken. 

“We know behaviour like this still exists within policing but it is this kind of decisive response from WYP, referring the case for independent scrutiny and acting to address the concerns raised, that sends a clear message about its stance on the issue.” 

A number of WYP officers raised their concerns about the behaviour within the team with the force’s professional standards department, which then made a referral to the IOPC. 

During the investigation, we reviewed more than 3,000 messages shared on the WhatsApp group between August 2020 and November 2021. These included: 

• PC Luke Riddett shared a photograph of a bearded Asian detainee with the caption “if you had to draw a terrorist…” 
• PC Tom Harrison made a comment considered offensive to the travelling community, in which he suggested he would “make a good pikey”. He followed this up with a reference to stealing cars “in my spare time”. 
• PC Dominique Hawkins posted an image from the scene of a sudden death, after the body had been removed, to which another officer responded: “Delicious”. 
• One officer posted about a woman “on a bridge”, adding “jump jump jump jump”. He separately posted about the same woman, describing her as “feral” and “covered in blood from smashing her head off my boot”. 
• PC Riddett made a number of inappropriate, sexualised comments about female colleagues. 

We interviewed 11 of the 12 officers under investigation and spoke with around 20 other officers and staff. Some officers told us the use of WhatsApp, while against force policy, was encouraged by some sergeants. They told us their WYP-issued devices made it difficult to share information – such as details of missing people – quickly, and WhatsApp provided a solution to this. Several officers told us they used “dark humour” as a way to deal with difficult situations. Some said this was actively encouraged during their initial training. 

Following the investigation, we shared several areas of potential learning with WYP. In response, the force told us it was rolling out new handheld devices to officers, which would include an alternative app allowing officers to share messages instantly among teams, without needing to use their personal devices.  We understand the force has since taken steps to address the issues identified including reviewing training and policies around social media use, with a focus on workplace behaviour and culture. 

On conclusion of the investigation, we determined eight officers should face disciplinary proceedings for alleged gross misconduct and four for alleged misconduct in relation to sharing, or failing to challenge or report offensive, derogatory and discriminatory comments and images, or photographs from crime scenes. 

WYP arranged a misconduct hearing for the officers under gross misconduct. The panel’s findings for the individual officers are below. 

 Notes to editors 

Please be aware that there are reporting restrictions preventing the identification of one of the officers who faced proceedings for gross misconduct. 

The IOPC has previously raised concerns about the use of social media, particularly WhatsApp, within policing. In April 2021, we wrote to the National Police Chiefs’ Council about the issue. This followed a number of IOPC investigations that had identified officers were misusing social media. 

In September 2021, two former Metropolitan Police Service officers who sent misogynistic and discriminatory text messages were barred from working in policing, following an IOPC investigation. In January 2022, we published learning from that case – and several other linked investigations arising from concerns about officers based in Charing Cross.