Exploring police employees’ attitudes and behaviours as a bystander towards police sexual misconduct

Abstract Police sexual misconduct (PSM) can have a severe impact on the police workforce, affecting all police personnel, not just officers, but it has received little academic attention. Such misconduct often goes unreported, despite many instances having bystanders present. This research explored police employees’ attitudes and behaviours as a bystander towards PSM. Four focus groups involving 25 police personnel were conducted across three forces in the East of England, and the data were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that participants’ attitudes towards sexual misconduct varied based on their perception of the misconduct and that barriers deterred them from reporting or challenging such behaviours. Nevertheless, participants felt accountable to act as bystanders while also holding other personnel responsible.