Investigation into the conduct of an officer during a domestic incident – Ministry of Defence Police, November 2023

A woman called the police to report that her teenage son was being verbally and physically aggressive towards her and her husband. The police downgraded the incident when the son left for school. 

The woman contacted the police again that evening to report further violence. The police went to the woman’s home and decided not to arrest the son, but to record the alleged crime, take statements and complete a voluntary interview.

The woman and her husband called a friend for support. The friend worked for the Ministry of Defence Police and was of a more senior rank than the officers present. 

The friend arrived at the family’s home and challenged the officers about their actions and decisions, including their decision not to arrest the son. The friend also spoke to a former colleague on the telephone to voice their concerns. One of the officers decided to arrest the son. 

Three of the officers later reported to their sergeant that they felt the friend had overstepped professional boundaries. They made statements saying they felt conflicted as to what to do, and that they believed their judgement had been influenced. The arresting officer described feeling pressured to make an arrest, as well as scrutinised. 

We decided to independently investigate the friend’s interactions with the officers’ present at the incident. We examined body worn video footage from the incident, as well as reviewing the statements from the officers. 

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings. 

We did recommend that the friend reflect on the expectations of a serving police officer and that this should be dealt with using the reflective practice review process.   

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. 

We did not identify any organisational learning in this case.