Three officers barred from policing after breaching standards of professional behaviour

Warwickshire Police is disappointed to report that two officers and a former officer were found to have breached standards of professional behaviour following three separate accelerated misconduct hearings held by the force on Thursday (2 December).

Trainee Detective Constable Sukhinder Basi, who was based in Rugby CID, was dismissed after she admitted to accessing information on police systems without a lawful purpose and passing it on to a third party who was under investigation.

She was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour, namely confidentiality, honesty and integrity, and conduct.

Special Constable Benedict Parker, who was based at Greys Mallory station, was dismissed after the hearing found he had driven a police vehicle with the use of audible sirens when he was not trained to do so. Parker then lied to his supervisor when asked about the incident.

He was found to have breached the standards of honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, and conduct.

The hearing also heard he had recently been placed on the College of Policing Barred List in connection with an unrelated matter and would therefore have been unable to continue in his position as a special constable.

Former PC Michaela Venus who worked on the force’s digital desk was found to have behaved in a way that caused the force embarrassment while on a night out in Coleshill. In the process she identified herself as a police officer.

She was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour, namely authority, respect and courtesy, duties and responsibilities, and conduct. The hearing determined she would have been dismissed had she not previously resigned from the force.

At the time of this incident Venus had only recently received a final written warning for a similar breach of the standards of professional behaviour.

All three are now on the College of Policing Barred List.

All three accelerated hearings were chaired by Chief Constable Debbie Tedds and are subject to the usual appeals process.

Chief Constable Tedds said: “Chairing accelerated misconduct hearings and dismissing officers is a part of the role of the Chief Constable. 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.”