A Police Ombudsman investigation highlighted failures in the police investigation
A police officer failed to interview a suspect in reports of violent and “sexualised” bullying against a teenage girl for nearly 18 months, an Ombudsman report has revealed.
The bullying the teenager suffered led her to develop severe anxiety and mental health issues that led to her hair falling out.
Police received a report in September 2022 that the teenage girl had been threatened by some pupils on the school bus who had also made threats to damage her property. In the weeks that followed police received further reports about incidents involving the girl which included someone firing a BB gun at her, throwing objects and making sexualised comments towards her.
READ MORE: Police Ombudsman investigation into how PSNI handled allegations against former officerREAD MORE: PSNI submit over 1,000 files on fatal shooting of Belfast dad
An Achieving Best Evidence interview took place with the girl which identified the main suspects, however police made no attempt to speak with them “for a prolonged period of time”. The reason given for this was that the suspect’s details were incorrect on police systems, however when this was rectified it still took officers eight months to interview them. Four months after this interview the person received a Community Resolution Order.
Officer didn’t try to speak to another suspect until April 2025. Officers also failed to speak with a witness to the incidents, which primarily took place on a school bus, with the Ombudsman report also finding documentation which showed “a lack of urgency in progressing CCTV enquiries by the IO despite a clear action plan set out by several supervisors.”
The Ombudsman report said: “A review of the police investigation has identified several failings. These range from a lack of immediate action, failure to speak to named suspects in a timely manner, failure to secure evidence from CCTV, identifying witnesses, lack of updates and not listening to a recording submitted as evidence.
“This investigation should have been a more expeditious investigation. Evidence was available and could have been secured at an earlier stage.
“One of the suspects was a next-door neighbour. However, despite this it has taken over two years for the IO to speak to them. The other suspect, who appears to be the main instigator, was not spoken to for almost 18 months. Both suspects should have been spoken with much sooner.”
After being interviewed by the Police Ombudsman, the investigating officer in the case “accepted that he had conducted a poor investigation into the reports made and apologised for the delay in progressing the investigation but was not able to provide any mitigating factors for the delay in progressing enquiries.”
A misconduct hearing with the officer took place and the investigating officer was sanctioned.
A spokesperson for the Police Ombudsman’s Office said: “There were serious failings in the police investigation of this case, including in relation to its timeliness, failures to secure and examine evidence, and a lack of updates provided to the family. There is no doubt that the young girl and her family were let down during what is likely to have been an extremely stressful and anxious period for them.
“It is welcome that our recommendation for disciplinary action against the police officer responsible has been accepted and implemented by the PSNI.”
Chief Superintendent Stephen Murray, head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Professional Standards Department, said: “We welcome the Police Ombudsman office investigation into this matter as we expect the highest standards of professionalism and integrity from all of our police officers in accordance with the standards contained in our Code of Ethics. Where the conduct of an officer is alleged to have fallen short of these high standards, as identified in this case, it is right that officers should face an impartial, thorough enquiry by the Police Ombudsman’s office.
“As a result of this investigation an officer was provided with management advice in respect to how they conducted the investigation. The investigation was not to the standard expected and this clearly had an impact on the victim and their family.
“Where learning regarding future actions can be gained, these are taken forward.”
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here