Fire service explains why 'sex offenders' kept their jobs

This follows reports in January revealing that of eight suspected sexual offenders working at Dorset & Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service were reported to police between 2019 and 2022, four were convicted and two remained employed, while three required no further action. 

A Freedom of Information request sparked the revelation.

After the story was published by a number of Newsquest publications in Wiltshire and Dorset, an internal email was sent out to all staff. 

The email from the assistant chief officer and director of people services at Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue, Jenny Long read: "You may have seen an article in the local press this weekend relating to sexual misconduct of DWFRS staff who have remained in employment with us.

"We wanted to give you a little more background to this article as we appreciate this may be unsettling for you, especially given the events of last year.

She added: "The circumstances behind the two staff who kept their job were domestic incidents that were not of a sexual nature, but were included in our FOI response for reasons of full transparency of staff under police investigation."

The email claims that the members of staff made the service aware of police proceedings in accordance with procedure, the matters are historic and appropriate disciplinary action was taken at the time. 

The FOI response was published on the Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue website in January 2023 and can be found here. 

In it, the question asked is "How many firefighters and fire service staff have been reported to or investigated by the police for alleged sexual offences (including all categories, e.g. rape, indecent assault etc)?"

It then confirms that the answer is eight, with four convictions, two dismissals and two remaining working at the service.

Last year a report prompted by allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct found serious misogyny and sexism within the fire service, which it has vowed to address.