A police officer who shared confidential information about victims for “idle gossip” has been banned from working in law enforcement for life.
The officer, whose name has been withheld by the force, faced a police misconduct panel at Hindlip Hall in July, with the report of this hearing being released by West Mercia Police on Thursday (October 22).
The officer, who refused to engage with the investigation and chose not to attend the meeting, was alleged to have sent a series of WhatsApp messages to his immediate family and friends containing confidential information from policing systems between June 2018 and January 2023.
One breach involved the officer sharing information about a female victim of violence, where he shared confidential information including the details of the victim, allegations made, and the ongoing operation to arrest him.
The report noted that the officer told people he contacted that he should not be sharing the information with them.
While the officer accepted sending the messages, he did not accept that this breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour expected from him by the force.
However, after hearing submissions from West Mercia Police, the independent chair of the hearing, Jonathan Roy, concluded that the officer had not only breached the standards expected of him, but his actions amounted to gross misconduct.
In his report, Mr Roy said: “His actions were very clearly intentional & deliberate. It may well be that the officer did not intend to cause any harm to individuals or police operations.
“However, he ought, given his policing experience, to have foreseen the harm that could be caused to ongoing police operations & investigations, the subjects of the information improperly disclosed, victims of crime and indeed public confidence.
“The information that was disclosed in this case was sensitive and should have been treated in the strictest confidence and only used for legitimate policing purposes, not to provide points of idle gossip with unauthorised recipients.
“The officer has simply abused his position of trust as a police officer.”
The chair also noted that his behaviour was “repeated and sustained over a period of time” and he did so with the intention of seeking a personal advantage as the source of confidential gossip.
Mr Roy said: “The officer has shown some remorse and some insight in his written submissions but what he states to be ‘the absence of personal gain, the absence of corrupt motive, the absence of operational compromise, the absence of dishonesty’ simply do not excuse or reduce the seriousness of his misconduct.
“West Mercia Police rightly expects and demands the highest standards of professional behaviour from its officers and staff both on and off duty.
“His behaviour was totally unacceptable; it undermines the values of West Mercia Police and is not befitting of a police officer.
“I have heard no appropriate evidence to suggest that any other outcome other than dismissal without notice is the only appropriate sanction in this matter.”
While the officer was still serving at the time of the hearing, he had already handed in his resignation. He was also added to the College of Policing’s barred list for life.
