Ex-Wiltshire Police staff member jailed after admitting misconduct
Rachel Beale has been handed a six month jail term
A former member of Wiltshire Police staff has been jailed for six months after admitting a charge of misconduct in public office.
53 year old Rachel Beale, who lives in Oxfordshire, has been sentenced at Bristol Crown Court (on Wednesday 30th March).
Beale was working as an offender manager with Wiltshire Police's Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders Unit (MOSOVO) when the offence happened.
She began an inappropriate, intimate, relationship with a male member of the public she was meant to be supervising, between February and September 2020.
Beale was arrested in September 2020 and immediately suspended from duty, with the matter also referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for an independent investigation.
After she pleaded guilty to the charge against her, an internal gross misconduct hearing was held by Wiltshire Police, which found she would have been dismissed had she not already resigned from the force.
She has also been added to the College of Policing barred register, which will ensure she cannot work for any another police force, nor in an external vetted risk role.
Wiltshire Police Deputy Chief Constable Paul Mills said:
“It goes without saying that we expect the highest levels of conduct from all our officers, staff and volunteers, something which is even more important when an employee is directly involved in supervising offenders within our community.
“Rachel Beale betrayed the trust of the public, and betrayed the trust of her colleagues, when she blatantly abused her position to commit this crime. The outcome of this investigation and today’s sentence shows that there is no place in policing for someone who behaves in this way.
“I want our communities across Swindon and Wiltshire to have the utmost confidence in their police force, and, although cases like this highlight the disappointing and unacceptable minority, I hope the public can see that we are committed to rooting out any kind of misconduct and taking the appropriate action.
“If any member of the public has concerns relating to the professionalism of any officer or staff member, we would urge them to contact us in confidence so we can address the concerns raised.”
PCC RESPONSE
Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, has given his reaction to the case:
“I'm exasperated and appalled that this is the second such sentencing of a Wilshire Police employee in a little over 24 hours, where they have abused their position of trust for their own gratification.
“Rachel Beale betrayed public trust when she began an inappropriate, intimate, relationship with a male offender she was responsible for supervising in her role within Wiltshire Police's Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) Unit.
“This will inevitably damage public confidence in policing and both the Chief Constable and I will eradicate any trace of corruption and misconduct within Wiltshire Police.
“We are both absolutely determined to ensure that public trust does not reach a place where it is irreparably broken.”