144 Welsh police officers barred from service over six years

Nation.Cymru staff/agencies

A total of 144 officers from Wales’ four police forces were added to the barred list over six years, new figures show.

Twenty-eight officers from Welsh forces were barred in 2025/26, unchanged from the previous year.

South Wales Police accounted for 15, followed by Gwent Police with eight, North Wales Police with four and Dyfed-Powys Police with one.

Across England and Wales, 757 regular officers were added to the list in the year to March 31, 2026, up from 735 the previous year. The College of Policing said this was the highest annual figure since the list began in December 2017.

The list prevents those dismissed for breaching professional standards from returning to policing. It also includes former officers found to have warranted dismissal after resigning or retiring.

Of the 757 regular officers added across England and Wales, 334 were serving, 397 had resigned and 26 had retired.

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.”

He said the number represented 0.5% of serving officers, with the vast majority serving with “courage, professionalism and integrity”.

South Wales Police recorded 71 additions between 2020/21 and 2025/26, compared with 36 for Gwent, 23 for North Wales and 14 for Dyfed-Powys.

The combined Welsh annual total stood at 25 in 2020/21, fell to 15 the following year and rose to 19 in 2022/23. It reached 29 in 2023/24 before falling to 28 in each of the next two years.

Gwent’s latest figure doubled from four to eight, while South Wales increased from 14 to 15. North Wales remained at four and Dyfed-Powys fell from six to one.

The figures are not adjusted for workforce size, so do not establish which force had the highest proportion of officers barred.

Across England and Wales, reasons included dishonesty in 142 cases, discriminatory behaviour in 110 and unlawful access to or disclosure of information in 101.

There were also 87 cases involving sexual offences or misconduct, including six involving child sexual abuse and five involving rape. Multiple reasons could be recorded in individual cases.

The report separately recorded 25 special constables and 348 police staff added to the barred list during 2025/26.