Avon and Somerset Police has announced 'decisive' new action to identify and tackle issues of culture and standards within the force.

The announcement comes after several high profile cases of police misconduct. In February Metropolitan police officer David Carrick was jailed for at least 30 years after admitting to 85 serious offences including the rape of at least 12 women.

In 2021 Wayne Couzens was arrested and jailed for killing 33 year old Sarah Everard after abusing his position of power to kidnap his victim.

A crackdown on conduct and standards in police forces across the country has followed, with a number of officers being sacked after their electronic communications were discovered.

Avon and Somerset accept that these events have damaged pubic confidence in policing, and said they are taking action to restore confidence. In a statement they said: "While the majority of police officers, staff and volunteers dedicate themselves to public service and keeping our communities safe, we’ve seen too many incidents which have damaged the public’s trust and confidence in policing.

"At Avon and Somerset Police, we recognise that to repair the damage these incidents have undoubtedly caused, we must take decisive action and be clear what standards we expect from our people. Where these standards are not met, we will take robust action to ensure those who let us all down cannot remain in policing."

The plan outlined this month included measures on improving background checks and vetting capability, identifying and addressing misconduct and further education for officers.

The Force is working with the University of Bournemouth to develop a training package for frontline managers as to how best identify behaviour associated with colleagues who commit acts of sexual violence.

The new course will come in addition to the already mandatory College of Policing training on abuse of position for a sexual purpose.

The Force has increased the number of investigators in its Counter Corruption Unit and fresh analysts and researchers are set to join them to "identify and get rid of those who have no place in policing."

Avon and Somerset have renewed their commitment to transparency, saying that they publish all the outcomes of police officer misconduct hearings and point out for the past two years a Channel 4 documentary crew has been embedded in the Force and given full access to scrutinise police behaviour.