A report published today, 3 March 2026, by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland has revealed a significant increase in cases of "abuse of position for sexual purposes" (APSP) within the PSNI.

Predatory behaviour now accounts for 30% of the Ombudsman's most serious investigations, with the report analysing the experiences of 36 victims identified between 2018 and 2024.

The findings highlight a pattern where all identified victims were female and possessed at least one significant vulnerability, such as being a victim of crime, struggling with mental health, or dealing with domestic abuse. In many instances, the power imbalance was so severe that victims did not recognise the abuse or feared reporting it. The analysis showed that contact often escalated rapidly; in some cases, sexual contact occurred on the same day the officer and victim first met through police duties.

The report also identified specific offender profiles, including "Sharks," who target marginalised women quickly, and "Fishermen," who use grooming behaviours over a longer period. A third category, the "Gull," was identified as an opportunistic offender. The majority of the officers involved were male constables aged 30 to 50 with less than ten years of service. Commenting on the report, Police Ombudsman Chief Executive, Hugh Hume, said: "Although this is a small number of officers relative to the size of the PSNI, the abuse of their position for their own sexual gain inflicts significant and long-lasting damage on their victims. Such is the power imbalance that many women do not report the offending directly for fear of reprisal and others can be so vulnerable that they do not recognise that the officer is abusing them and instead see him as a 'knight in shining armour' figure. Others do not see themselves as victims at all. We hope one of the outcomes of publishing this report will be that any woman who has had a similar experience with a police officer will feel reassured that we take this kind of offending seriously and know that if this has happened to them, we will listen and we will investigate."

Regarding the speed of the exploitation, Mr Hume said: "The fact that in three cases there was sexual contact between the police officer and the victim in the space of just one day is shocking. Our findings show that other officers test the boundaries over time, for example by initially friendly texting which then becomes increasingly flirtatious and sexual, leading to a sexual approach. Others will make an attempt which is unsuccessful and contact may never become sexual. While that may at first seem to lessen the severity of the behaviour, even the attempt to exploit their trusted position is a breach of an officer's professional standards."

Addressing the current investigations, Mr Hume added: "We are seeing a rise in these cases and the majority of those are coming from the PSNI itself. This is welcome and shows a very clear willingness at the most senior level to identify and eradicate this kind of behaviour. I hope this analysis will support the PSNI further in recognising and addressing predatory police behaviour, as well as strengthening their systems so the opportunity for this type of corruption is reduced. I also believe our work to date is a tangible demonstration that the Police Ombudsman is supporting the Northern Ireland Executive's strategy to end violence against women and girls. We will continue to contribute to that aim as we test these emerging findings against the outcomes of more investigations as they conclude."