A WEST MERCIA Police officer has received a final written warning for gross misconduct during a hearing in Worcester.
Following an investigation by the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC), the un-named officer received the punishment at a misconduct hearing arranged by West Mercia Police.
The panel overseeing the hearing, including an independent legally-qualified chair, reviewed the allegations to assess whether the officer had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in 2018.
Following the hearing, the officer’s conduct was assessed as breaching the following Standards of Professional Behaviour:
Authority, Respect and Courtesy in that he entered into an improper relationship with a person that he met in the course of his duties while on duty.
Orders and Instructions in that he failed to comply with a lawful instruction given to him by a supervisor and failed to comply with West Mercia Police policy instructions on the personal use of work issue mobile devices.
The panel found the case proven and the officer received a final written warning.
Head of West Mercia Police Professional Standards Department, Supt Rebecca Love, said: “The Misconduct Hearing found that the behaviour of this officer fell below the standards we, and quite rightly the public, expect from our officers and staff and amounted to a breach of the Standards of Authority, Respect and Courtesy and Orders and Instructions.
“The public must be able to have trust and confidence in the police service to uphold the law and where behaviour undermines this, either on or off duty, I would like to offer my assurances to members of the public that appropriate action will be taken.”
Misconduct Hearings are subject to an appeals process.
