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.
