Avon and Somerset Police

Police officer who had sex with drunk woman on duty cleared of misconduct

Lee Cocking stood accused of sleeping with a drunk woman in his police car, but claimed it was sexual assault. On Friday he was cleared of gross misconduct.

Autistic woman wins damages after police put ‘false and misleading’ information on her record

In the latest in a series of payouts from the force, Avon and Somerset Police were found to hold records incorrectly describing her as having 'split personality, violent when not medicated'.

5 key moments in history that led to the Police and Crime Act

Now the government has restricted peaceful protest, criminal defence solicitor Matt Foot explains the history of violent policing at protests and outlines how we got here.

Avon and Somerset Police commits to anti-racism work, but refuses to admit force is institutionally racist

Chief Constable Sarah Crew said the view that policing is institutionally racist has legitimacy, but it’s important to move beyond the term.

Father of boy hit with paddle in ‘racially motivated attack’ says son did the police’s work for them

The force's inaction 'won't be forgotten', he said, after an investigation into the incident was reopened following a public backlash.

Man charged with riot and arson says police escalated protest into violence

He is accused of trying to set police vehicles on fire during the Kill the Bill demo on 21 March, but blamed police for turning the protest violent.

Man denies setting fire to police vehicles in first Kill the Bill trial

25-year-old Ryan Roberts is charged with riot, attempted arson and arson in connection with the Bristol protest on 21 March that escalated into violence.

Exclusive: No child cruelty charges after two-year police investigation into special school St Christopher’s

Two years after the school for vulnerable children closed, the valuable site has been sold and now local residents are raising concerns about plans to redevelop it into a care community for older people.

Does this Bristol pilot project suggest the UK is moving towards less draconian drug laws?

The £5 million pilot project came to Bristol earlier this year to help get more people into treatment and prevent reoffending.

Police denied autistic woman access to appropriate adult after suicide attempt

A second complaint has been upheld against Avon and Somerset Police over their treatment of a woman who says she has suffered years of hate crime.

Exclusive: the witness who police didn’t interview after friend’s unsolved disappearance speaks for first time

Jo Hook had dinner with her friend Linda Millard the night before she vanished but was never interviewed by police as a witness. Linda’s disappearance is one of Avon and Somerset Constabulary’s longest running missing person cases, with a possible organised crime connection.

How a police and council database is predicting if your child is at risk of harm

Approximately 90 children may have been wrongly flagged as being at risk of sexual harm by a database used by the council and police, according to Jake Hurfurt, the Head of Research and Investigations at Big Brother Watch.