A former officer at Avon and Somerset Police has been banned from policing indefinitely after misusing confidential systems to look up information about people they knew. A misconduct hearing panel concluded on Tuesday (August 2) that the offence was a gross misconduct and said they would have been dismissed from their post if they hadn’t already resigned.
The panel, led by an independent Legally Qualified Chair (LQC), found the former officer, known as PC G, had breached standards of honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, confidentiality, and discreditable conduct. The gross misconduct allegations related to PC G’s use of restricted computer systems over a seven-month period for non-policing reasons.
These allegations came to light last month whereby between December 3, 2020, and June 19, 2021, PC G used the force's systems to search for details about a former partner and their family members. PC G then shared this information with others, which "caused distress and upset". The force has withheld the name of the officer following a decision made by the independent LQC.
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Chief Inspector Sharon Baker, of Professional Standards, said: “Police systems hold a great deal of sensitive information and the public trust us to use this information only for policing matters and always with the greatest respect and care. PC G knew these guidelines and still chose to access the information about multiple individuals for no policing reason.
"They then committed further breaches of trust by sharing these findings with others. The misconduct hearing panel has listened to all the evidence and found the allegations of gross misconduct to be proven and decided the officer would have been dismissed without notice, had they not already resigned.”
The former officer will now be placed on the College of Policing’s Barred list to prevent them from working in policing or another law enforcement agency in the future. The full outcome will be published on the misconduct section of Avon and Somerset Police's website when available.
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