Misconduct hearings for South Yorkshire police officers accused of having sex on duty to be held in private
South Yorkshire Police plans to hold private misconduct hearings for two officers accused of having sex with each other while on duty, and for another who allegedly sent inappropriate messages to a woman he met during the course of a missing person investigation.
The accelerated misconduct hearings for the three officers are set to be held on Monday, August 19, 2024; and in announcing the hearings on their website, the force confirmed the hearings would be held in private, stating ‘therefore no members of the public will be allowed to attend’ - but did not provide a reason.
The first hearing relates to two officers, who are set to face the following allegation: “It is alleged that in January 2024, two officers engaged in sexual activity with each other whilst on duty.”
The second hearing relates to an officer accused of sending ‘inappropriate text messages to a female he met in the course of his duties whilst investigating a missing person’ in November 2023.
Home Office statutory guidance on ‘Professional Standards, Performance and Integrity in Policing’ states that an advanced decision to hold a hearing in private should only be taken in ‘exceptional circumstances,’ and that the hearing’s chair may ‘consider that it would be appropriate to ask the appropriate authority to publish a notice on its website explaining the decision’.
No such notice of explanation has been provided in either case set to be heard next week.
The Star asked South Yorkshire Police (SYP) to provide an explanation for the decision to hold the hearings in private and for information on how the decision can be challenged.
Responding to those requests, a SYP spokesperson said: “The chair of the panel has been provided with information which has led to a decision to hold the hearings in private. The outcome of the hearing will still be published on our website.”
The spokesperson also confirmed there is ‘no mechanism’ to challenge the decision to hold misconduct hearings in private.
While there is no legal requirement for police misconduct hearings to be held in public, the same Home Office statutory guidance states: “The presumption is that misconduct hearings must be held in public (Regulation 39 of the Conduct Regulations) and open to the public and the media to attend.
“This is in keeping with a general principle that discipline proceedings should be as open, transparent and fair as possible for both the public and parties to the procedures. Restrictions on attendance should be the exception.”
Detailing the ‘purpose’ of public misconduct hearings, South Yorkshire Police’s website states that it is to ‘show’ that their ‘disciplinary system is open and transparent’ and to demonstrate that they ‘do hold officers who breach the standards of professional behaviour, or those where misconduct is found proven, accountable for their actions’.
According to the Home Office guidance, the principle of transparency also means that when forces publish notice of such hearings they should include one or more of the following: the date, time and place of the hearing; the nature of the misconduct allegation and the name of the officer concerned.
None of the three South Yorkshire Police officers set to face misconduct allegations have been named by the force.
The force ordinarily provides the name and rank of officers set to face misconduct allegations in public.
The Star asked South Yorkshire Police to confirm the rank of the three officers in question, and was told that all three hold the rank of police constable.