Police officers in Northern Ireland have been found to have used "degrading" language about a suspected victim of domestic violence when a phone recorded 16 hours of audio after it had been seized.
The device was recovered following the arrest of a man at his home in December 2022.
The officers had been unaware that the phone had been recording audio prior to the arrest and during his time in police custody.
The recorded audio included "degrading and inappropriate comments" about the man and his partner, an investigation by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland (PONI) has found.
The man complained to the police watchdog after listening back to the recording.
He submitted a seven-hour recording to investigators in which officers were heard to refer to a suspected victim of domestic violence as "mental", possibly suffering from "post-natal depression" and requiring hospitalisation.
Chief Executive of the PONI Hugh Hume criticised the commentary on the recording.
"While these comments were made by police officers outside of a public setting, they nonetheless reflect attitudes and behaviours that are entirely unacceptable.
"It is particularly concerning that such degrading remarks were directed towards a woman reporting to be a victim of domestic abuse.
"This serves as a reminder that police officers should always act with compassion, professionalism and integrity.".
The PSNI has put a much greater focus on tackling domestic abuse in recent years, part of a wider strategy of ending violence against women and girls.
Last year there were 29,751 domestic abuse incidents, a decrease of 9.2% on the previous year.
But Northern Ireland still has one of the highest levels of domestic abuse in Europe.
Twenty-eight women have died violently since 2020.
All but one were killed by a man, or a man has been charged in connection with their deaths.
The investigation by the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland found other issues with how the phone had been retained by officers during the period of detention.
It had not been packaged, labelled or stored properly. It had also been taken out of the police station with no clear record of its movements while in police possession.
Investigation into allegation officer encouraged colleague to destroy phone
PONI investigators also examined an allegation that one officer had encouraged a colleague to destroy the phone in case it might be recording.
Another officer was heard to respond: "What a way to get sacked."
The officer who made the suggestion about destroying the phone was interviewed under criminal caution, a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecution who directed that the officer should not be prosecuted.
PONI also recommended that the PSNI hold misconduct meetings with four officers. This was not accepted by the PSNI's Professional Standards Department which decided instead to hold a misconduct meeting with one officer and offer advice to the three others.
PONI said it had identified no misconduct in relation to the phone owner's other allegations including that he had been unlawfully arrested, that officers had falsified statements and damaged a laptop while he had been in police custody.
Detective Superintendent Julie Mullan, from the PSNI's Professional Standards Department, said they had received the report from the Ombudsman and acknowledged its findings.
"The Police Service of Northern Ireland and the public expect police officers to investigate incidents fully, fairly and professionally.
"Where it is perceived that conduct falls short of these high standards, it is right that officers should face an impartial, thorough enquiry by the Police Ombudsman’s office.
"As a result of the investigation, three police officers have been issued with advice to improve their conduct, while a fourth officer was subject to measures designed to improve performance.
"While in this instance the conduct of the officers fell short of the standards that we have set, it is not representative of the excellent work police officers carry out across Northern Ireland on a daily basis as we strive to keep people safe."
