Former officer found guilty of gross misconduct while in post

On Tuesday 26 March, a gross misconduct hearing was held for a former officer of Warwickshire Police.

The officer - who was based in the south of the county - was found to have breached professional standards to the degree that he had committed gross misconduct while in post.

It was found that the officer had, while dealing with a victim of domestic abuse:

• Persistently messaged the victim asking to meet, despite her indicating they did not wish to do so;
• Discussed details of the investigation in the company of the officer’s partner;
• Formed an inappropriate and unprofessional emotional attachment to the victim;
• Sent an inappropriate text message to the victim;
• Pressured the victim to send an email of support to the officer’s line manager praising his performance and handling of the case, the contents of which was pre-drafted by the officer;
• Contacted the victim twice despite the officer’s awareness of being under investigation.

The hearing’s chair found that the officer fell short of the following standards of professional behaviour:

• Integrity,
• Authority, respect, and courtesy,
• Confidentiality, and
• Conduct

The chair found that, had he been a serving officer, he would have been dismissed without notice. The officer has been placed on the barred list held by the College of Policing.

Det. Supt. Thompson of Professional Standards said “The former officer fell a long way short of the standards we expect in our organisation.

“We treat any and all cases of professional misconduct seriously, particularly as the people who come into contact with us are often vulnerable members of the community in need of support and do not deserve to be let down and abused by their police force.”

There are multiple paths of reporting if you have reason to believe a member of Warwickshire Police is guilty of misconduct in their position.

• Make a complaint online at warwickshire.police.uk/fo/feedback/complaints/complaints/
• Contact the CrimeStoppers anonymous anti-corruption and abuse reporting service on 0800 085 0000 or online at reportpoliceabuse.co.uk/
• If you or someone else is in immediate danger call 999
• You can also report crime online at warwickshire.police.uk/report or by phone on 101.