TWO FORMER Warwickshire Police officers have been found guilty of misconduct.
A former Special Constable was found guilty of gross misconduct after he pleaded guilty to assault.
And an ex-officer was found to have fallen short of standards of professional behaviour when he failed to report a crime committed by his sister.
A hearing on Tuesday March 18 heard the former Special Constable had pleaded guilty to two charges of assault by beating at Leamington Magistrates Court in May 2024, where he was sentenced to a 12-month community order and to pay fines totalling £324.
Assistant Chief Constable Claire Armes, who chaired the hearing, found the former Special Constable would have been dismissed if he was still a serving member of Warwickshire Police.
The officer has been placed on the barred list held by the College of Policing.
Det Supt Thompson of the force’s Professional Standards Team said: “The vast majority of our officers and staff go out every day to make a positive difference whilst upholding the values that are important to us and our communities.
“Unfortunately, as with any organisation, there will be a small number of people who let their colleagues and the public down.
“Being a police officer is a privileged role and rightly comes with a great deal of responsibility and accountability when we are both on and off duty.
“We are quite rightly held to the highest standards by the public and need to make sure our communities have confidence in us to do the right things.
“It is therefore important when our officers do not meet these standards we take necessary action in an open and transparent way.”
A second hearing on Wednesday March 19 related to an incident in January 2024, when a former officer was on patrol in Nuneaton with a Special Constable in a marked police vehicle.
The officer was approached by a member of the public who reported a suspected drink driver, who was then identified as the officer’s sister. This information was not raised on any incident log or communicated to other colleagues.
The same member of the public called later that night to report the suspected drink driver, after which the former officer accessed the incident log and made phone calls to his sister.
Assistant Ch Cons Armes, again chairing the hearing, found that the officer would have been dismissed without notice had he still been a serving officer.
She said: “I am disappointed and I find it a shame that an officer with an unblemished career to date and with this level of skill should end their career in this way.”
A Warwickshire Police spokesperson added: “The former officer ought to have known that he should report any matters of wrongdoing reported by a member of the public, and should not breach the confidentiality of a third party.
“He was dishonest in the way he dealt with his sister as he communicated information to her when he knew, or ought to have known, he should not have done so, and this dishonesty is further aggravated by the fact he concealed, by deletion, one of the phone calls with her.”
The officer has also been placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.
Det Ch Insp Stephen Flavell of the Professional Standards Team said: “The former officer fell a long way short of the standards we expect in our organisation.
“Their failure to record a directly disclosed offence, particularly one with the potential for deadly consequences, represents a profound betrayal of public trust.
“This inaction not only perverted the course of justice, which officers are sworn to uphold, but also placed members of the public at risk. Such conduct is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”
The outcomes of both misconduct hearings are subject to the normal appeals process.
