Bedfordshire officer who called vulnerable woman 26 TIMES would have been kicked off the force
A police officer who repeatedly hassled a vulnerable woman would have been sacked had they not resigned.
The unnamed officer was found guilty in their absence of gross misconduct at an accelerated misconduct hearing on April 2.
It heard how on July 31, 2019, the former officer attended a concern for welfare incident relating to a woman feeling suicidal.
But after completing a safeguarding referral for her, they abused their position by contacting the female immediately after finishing shift.
And over a SEVEN WEEK PERIOD, called her 26 TIMES, mainly while off-duty.
The officer also held on to the female’s phone number on their personal device for their own personal use.
During the hearing held at Lysander House, Tempsford, the former officer – who did not attend the hearing – showed no remorse and said in their response “that the vulnerable female had not made a complaint in regard to their conduct”.
And, had the officer not resigned, they would have been booted out of the force and placed on the College of Policing barred list.
The panel – headed by Assistant Chief Constable Vaughan Lukey – found:
>The actions of the former officer were serious in nature
>Their conduct was deliberate and intentional
>The former police officer could have reasonably foreseen the risk to the reputation of policing
>They abused their authority, powers, and position as a police officer
>The impact of their conduct remains unknown in terms of actual harm caused
The panel stated: “There is a clear imbalance of power between police and public, which is exacerbated in cases involving vulnerable women and police officers. The former officer used their personal device to contact the vulnerable female, in breach of the force’s Abuse of Authority for a Sexual and Emotional Purpose, Breach of Professional Boundaries and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Policy.”
And went on to say: “The Former Officer’s conduct would not be reasonable in the eyes of fair-minded members of the public, whose trust and confidence underpins policing by consent, and must be maintained."
Before concluding: “The former officer’s gross misconduct damages public trust and makes the job of those who continue to do their best to serve the public, more challenging.”