Former Bedfordshire Police officer jailed for removing criminal's tag to have secret sexual relationship
A former offender management officer has been jailed after she admitted to taking a burglar’s electronic tag off so they could have a relationship without the police knowing.
Natasha Conneely was part of the offender management unit when her relationship with a known burglar was discovered in May 2023.
An investigation by the force’s Professional Standards Department uncovered messages between the pair and showed she had removed his electronic tag in April so he could go to her home undetected. After the tryst she checked the systems to make sure his location had not been traced. They also were found to have spent the night together in a hotel in Leeds in June.
She was charged with corrupt or other improper exercise of police powers and privileges (Section 26 Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015) and resigned.
A hearing in November 2023 found her behaviour amounted to gross misconduct for discreditable conduct and honesty and integrity. She would have been struck off, if she had not resigned, and was banned from returning to policing.
She admitted the charge and was today (Friday) sentenced to 18 months behind bars at St Albans Crown Court.
Chief Constable Trevor Rodenhurst said: "Natasha Conneely was part of a team responsible for the monitoring and management of offenders who are in our community. The team manages the risk of these individuals through tagging and other means to deter reoffending and assist their rehabilitation into society.
"Becoming involved in a sexual relationship with such an offender was totally inappropriate and her actions to allow them to spend time together undetected were entirely selfish and had real potential to leave the offender free to further offend with no safeguards in place.”
He explained: "The evidence of their communication, in my view, demonstrates she entered this relationship and course of conduct of her own free will and her conduct falls far below the standard the public rightly expect. Her actions risked undermining the entire offender management system and she let down multiple colleagues and departments who work together to keep our communities safe.
"There is simply no place in policing for anyone who behaves in such a way."