Six serving police officers and one former officer are under criminal investigation over “grossly offensive” WhatsApp messages.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the suspects had all been in the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, where Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens formerly served.
Five remain in the force, which guards sensitive sites, one has moved to a force in south-west England and another has left policing.
The IOPC said it had investigated a WhatsApp group used by the officers and “identified a significant number of the messages to be of a discriminatory, derogatory or pornographic nature”.
“The officers have been informed they are being criminally investigated for offences under section 127 of the Communications Act, sending grossly offensive messages,” a spokesperson added.
“All seven have also been advised they are under investigation for potential gross misconduct.”
The probe was announced weeks after two former Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CND) officers were convicted over messages in a WhatsApp group containing Couzens.
Jonathon Cobban and Joel Borders had transferred to the Metropolitan Police with other CND colleagues in 2019, and the investigation announced on Friday is not related to their case.
IOPC Regional Director Catherine Bates called the new allegations “extremely serious and concerning”.
“At the conclusion of our investigation we will decide whether the matters should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, whose role it is to determine whether criminal charges will follow,” she added.
