A police officer has been cleared of sending offensive messages after prosecutors failed to bring charges in time. PC Joann Jinks, 41, was facing trial at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
But Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram formally found the West Mercia Police officer not guilty of three charges of sending a grossly offensive message by a public communication network following legal argument. The court heard the Crown Prosecution Service made a decision to take no further action against Jinks, from Redditch, Worcestershire, on June 14 last year.
However, following a review of the evidence after the involvement of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), prosecutors decided she should be charged on October 18 last year. A postal requisition was not sent until the end of March this year.
