A group of police officers in Northern Ireland have come under fire after being caught on a secret recording making “degrading and inappropriate” remarks about a suspected victim of domestic violence. The comments were uncovered after a mobile phone, seized during an arrest in December 2022, was found to have recorded 16 hours of audio.
The phone, belonging to a man detained by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), had been unknowingly recording before, during, and after his arrest. When the man later listened back, he discovered officers making inappropriate comments about him and his partner.
He lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI), submitting a seven-hour excerpt in which officers could be heard describing the woman as “mental,” speculating she had “post-natal depression,” and suggesting she needed hospitalisation.
PONI Chief Executive Hugh Hume condemned the remarks, calling them “entirely unacceptable.” He said, “It is particularly concerning that such degrading comments were directed towards a woman reporting to be a victim of domestic abuse. This serves as a reminder that police officers should always act with compassion, professionalism, and integrity.”
The investigation also found procedural failings in how the phone was handled while in police custody. It was not properly packaged, labelled, or stored, and there was no clear record of its movements after it was taken out of the station.
In a further revelation, PONI investigators looked into an allegation that one officer had encouraged a colleague to destroy the phone in case it had been recording. Another officer reportedly replied, “What a way to get sacked.” The officer who made the suggestion was interviewed under criminal caution, but the Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to pursue charges.
The Ombudsman recommended misconduct meetings for four officers involved, but the PSNI’s Professional Standards Department downgraded the disciplinary action — holding a misconduct meeting for one officer and issuing advice to the other three.
Despite the controversy, PONI said it found no evidence to support other allegations made by the complainant, including claims of unlawful arrest, falsified statements, or damage to a laptop.
Detective Superintendent Julie Mullan of the PSNI’s Professional Standards Department acknowledged the findings and said steps had been taken to address officer behaviour. “While in this instance the conduct of the officers fell short of our standards, it is not representative of the excellent work police officers carry out daily across Northern Ireland,” she said.
The incident comes as the PSNI continues efforts to tackle domestic abuse, which remains a major issue in Northern Ireland. Despite a 9% drop in reported incidents last year, the region still records some of the highest levels of domestic abuse in Europe, with 28 women killed violently since 2020 — nearly all by men.
