Officers under investigation over offensive WhatsApp messages
Factual summary of a published IOPC investigation, covering the incident, key findings and outcome.
- Published
- 2022-10-07
- Investigation type
- independent
- Force involved
- Civil Nuclear Constabulary
What was investigated
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has started a criminal investigation into the conduct of six serving and one former police officer linked to messages shared in a WhatsApp group. A significant number of those messages were identified to be of a discriminatory, derogatory or pornographic nature.
Key findings
- Seven officers are under investigation for sharing offensive messages.
- Messages were found to be discriminatory, derogatory, or pornographic in nature.
- Investigation pertains to potential offences under section 127 of the Communications Act.
- Investigated officers include six serving and one former police officer.
- The status of each officer will remain under review throughout the investigation.
Outcome
The investigation is ongoing, and decisions regarding conduct proceedings or criminal charges will follow after further assessment.
Related on BlueLineHub
- Accountability hub — how oversight of UK policing works
- IOPC outcomes & learning feed
- Civil Nuclear Constabulary force profile
This is a factual summary of a report published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Individuals are referred to exactly as the source report anonymises them. BlueLineHub is independent and not affiliated with the IOPC · Summarised 2026-07-13.