PC dismissed without notice for gross misconduct
The officer was alleged to have misused systems and have explicit images on their work phone
A serving PC has been dismissed without notice for multiple breaches of professional standards amounting to gross misconduct.
The former officer was alleged to have misused police systems and was found to have explicit images on their work mobile phone and indecent images taken in the workplace on their personal mobile phone.
During a hearing at Stratford Police Station on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 April, the chair – Assistant Chief Constable Claire Armes – found the allegation of gross misconduct proven and determined there had been breaches of the following standards:
Authority, Respect and Courtesy
Orders and Instructions
Duties and Responsibilities
Confidentiality
Conduct
The officer has been placed on the barred list by the College of Policing.
At the start of the hearing, the chair agreed to all parties’ anonymity and a subsequent application to lift reporting restrictions was also refused on the grounds of protecting children involved in the case and preventing unacceptable risk to their identity being revealed.
Detective Superintendent Paul Thompson said:
“We welcome this decision and although it has been a lengthy investigation, it’s ultimately one with the correct outcome.
“We will always seek out and investigate officers where we believe there have been potential breaches of the standards of professional behaviour we expect.
"We understand behaviour of this nature completely discredits the police service and the officer in this instance fell a long way short of the standards we would expect in our organisation.
“However, I would like to emphasise that the vast majority of officers and staff in Warwickshire go to work every day to make a difference and protect the community.
"We hope the public can take confidence from today’s outcome knowing that we will deal robustly with any wrongdoing and take action accordingly.”
The officer was originally suspended in 2020, and a referral was made to the IOPC as part of a larger investigation involving the officer and other parties.
Following the conclusion of the IOPC investigation in early 2023, we conducted further investigation between Spring 2023 and December 2024, which then led to today’s hearing.
The outcome of the misconduct hearing is subject to the normal appeals process.
More information on misconduct hearings and their outcomes can be found here on the Warwickshire Police website.
There are multiple ways to report 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