Women targeted by police who 'abused the badge'

Two women who were preyed upon by serving police officers they trusted have described their ordeals and why they decided to speak out.

Naomi Meadows was raped by a detective she met online in Devon, while Catherine Dobson was subjected to years of coercive and controlling behaviour by a Lancashire police officer who worked in a sexual offences unit.

Catherine said: "He used his job, he used his power and he abused the badge. Whatever his motives were, I will never understand."

The women waived their right to anonymity to tell their harrowing stories as part of a BBC investigation that uncovered more than 1,200 domestic abuse allegations made in three years against police officers and special constables across England and Wales.

Professional standards investigations were opened into allegations including rape, sexual assault, grievous bodily harm, stalking and serious violence.

Most cases were discontinued, subjected to no further action or dropped because of a lack of evidence or victims withdrawing their complaints.

Campaigners say more needs to be done to tackle police-perpetrated abuse despite repeated warnings about failures to identify and remove dangerous officers in the wake of the 2021 murder of Sarah Everard in London by serving Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens.

Catherine Dobson, from Rawtenstall in Lancashire, said she was asked out for a drink by Michael Harvey after a chance meeting in a supermarket.

"The only reason I trusted him was because he told me he was a detective in the police," she said.

"We got on really well: this was a man who was paid to look after the most vulnerable in society - women and children who'd been abused - so that made me feel safe."

What Catherine did not realise was that Harvey had already accessed police computer systems to obtain her address and phone number.

Cracks appeared early on in their relationship.

Catherine grew suspicious that Harvey had not introduced her to his children and would not let her post pictures of them together online.

When she discovered Harvey had been texting other women, she was told they were victims of sexual offences he was investigating.

Catherine said she had no reason to disbelieve him.

"At the time I backed off because who am I to stop a victim of a crime like that from being supported by the officer?"

It was when she tried to end the relationship that the psychological abuse escalated.

Catherine said he told her he had been abused as a child and later made unfounded claims he had been tested for cancer.

"I believed him," she said. "I felt responsible for keeping him well."

Catherine believes it was part of a pattern of emotional manipulation designed to stop her leaving.

She said Harvey threatened to take his own life on several occasions if she left him, including once during a phone call while she was at work.

"I called the police immediately, then I drove back to the house and I was in bits," she said. "I honestly thought I'd open the door and find him dead.

"The police were there and they were just about to bash the door in when he calmly opened it wrapped in a towel and he said, 'What's the problem officer? I've just been in the shower'.

"I felt like this hysterical mess who'd made the whole thing up. But when you're in it, you're not thinking straight."

During years of emotional blackmail, Catherine described how Harvey had faked an anaphylactic shock and threatened to jump out of a moving car.

She eventually left him, but it was another six years before she filed a police report.

Explaining her hesitation, she said: "Who is going to believe me over a detective on the sex offenders' unit?"

Harvey was arrested in 2023 and was jailed earlier this year. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years after admitting coercive and controlling behaviour and the unauthorised use of police computers. He was cleared of three counts of rape.

Lancashire Constabulary described Harvey's behaviour as "abhorrent" and said it had "no place in policing".

The force said it remained committed to protecting women and girls.

The BBC understands another woman complained to the force about Harvey before he met Catherine but was told he had not committed an offence.

Lancashire Constabulary declined to comment, citing an ongoing complaints process.

Harvey's case was not an isolated incident.

The BBC sent Freedom of Information requests to 45 police forces across England and Wales, asking for details of domestic abuse allegations involving police officers.

Just over half responded, disclosing a total of 1,280 cases investigated by professional standards departments in the three years to January.

The allegations included rape, sexual assault, coercive control, stalking and non-fatal strangulation.

Former Merseyside PC Ryan Theaker was jailed earlier this month for 11 years.

A court heard his victim had told him to "get off me" more than 300 times as he subjected her to an 82-minute ordeal in a Liverpool hotel room.

Theaker was one of few convicted of a criminal offence, however.

Most concluded cases resulted in no further action, including 96% in the North West.

Nearly half of the 1,280 cases in England and Wales disclosed to the BBC were recorded by the largest force, the Metropolitan Police.

Dozens of its officers were accused of rape or other sexual offences.

Devon and Cornwall PC Stuart Mines was convicted last year of rape.

He met Naomi Meadows on a dating website before they agreed to meet in person.

Naomi told the BBC: "You kind of have a childlike trust because they're the police - they're honest, trustworthy."

After a dog walk together, Mines invited her back to his home for Sunday lunch.

Naomi said she quickly felt uncomfortable.

She said Mines had smacked her backside and repeatedly talked about being a police officer and the authority that came with the role.

"I felt intimidated," said Naomi. "I felt scared. Then things just went from bad to worse - he raped me."

Naomi, from Exeter, said she had been too frightened to leave.

"Physically he was bigger than me and he obviously had all this power because he was a police officer.

"His uniform was hanging up and he had all his badges on. You just do what you can to survive, I guess."

For months afterwards, Naomi remained silent.

"I didn't trust the police to investigate it because he was one of their own," she said.

When she did speak out, Mines was arrested and charged. He was later convicted of rape and jailed for eight years.

Naomi said her battle had not ended with his conviction.

A subsequent professional standards department investigation upheld a number of complaints about the way in which Devon and Cornwall Police had handled her case and concluded it was "not acceptable".

The investigation found she should have been told Mines had been suspended.

The BBC has also learned he continued to be paid for a month after his conviction.

Naomi said the failings had left her feeling abandoned.

"I wasn't told that he was suspended," she said. "So I stayed in my house for months because I was worried he'd be walking the streets."

She added she had not received victim care support from police because the file was restricted.

Devon and Cornwall Police acknowledged failings identified following Naomi's complaint, including that Mines continued to receive police pay after his conviction when he should not have done.

The force said lessons had been learned, procedures changed and additional safeguards introduced for victims of police-perpetrated abuse.

Campaigners said the figures for England and Wales reflected a wider problem that police forces had struggled to confront.

Former police officer Bridie Anderson, who now supports victims of police-perpetrated abuse, says officers can use the trust and authority that comes with their badge to exert power over victims.

"What we know about domestic abusers is that they present a front to the rest of the world that is very different to the one the survivor sees," she said.

Anderson said cases involving police officers presented unique challenges because perpetrators often had immediate credibility with colleagues and the public, while victims may fear they would not be believed.

The Women Against Rape campaign group said the BBC's investigation raised serious questions about whether policing had learned the lessons of the Everard case and subsequent reviews.

It said victims of police abuse often faced an additional hurdle because they had to report their allegations to the force employing the alleged perpetrator.

Chief Constable Chris Todd, the National Police Chiefs' Council's lead for professional standards, said police recognised the "devastating impact" of these crimes and the fear victims may feel about reporting an abuser who was part of the organisation meant to protect them.

He said forces had strengthened vetting and misconduct procedures, increased dismissals for gross misconduct and were determined to identify and remove officers who should not be in policing.

Naomi said her decision to waive her anonymity had not been about herself, but about "what needs to change".

"So many men get away with abusing women and girls and don't face any consequences and when it's police-perpetrated crime, they should be held to a higher account," she said.

"The people with the means to change these things need to listen to what we've had to go through and the little support we've had."

For Catherine, the effects of Harvey's abuse remain years later.

"It changed me as a person," she said. "I've never been the same since."

Of the man who abused her, she added: "He knew what he were doing. I couldn't keep him out of my house, I couldn't keep him out of my head. And I had no say."

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