South Yorkshire Police officer sacked for using police systems to look up partner's ex
The officer was also found to have “caused a colleague to check a system he did not have access to”
A South Yorkshire Police officer has been sacked without notice after a misconduct hearing found he used force systems to look up his partner’s ex, along with an investigation in which she was a witness.
The actions of the police constable, whose identity has been withheld by South Yorkshire Police without explanation, were found to amount to gross misconduct during a hearing held on Monday, May 11.
The decision to keep the officer anonymous was made by the misconduct hearing panel, which was chaired by SYP chief constable Lauren Poultney.
In Chf Con Poultney’s published determinations on the conduct of the officer, referred to as PC A, she found him to have “deliberately and knowingly engaged in an act of serious misconduct.”
She continued: “Not only did PC A access systems without a proper policing purpose he also disclosed the information he had obtained to his partner.
“In addition to checking systems he had access to, PC A also caused another officer to check a system he did not have access to.
“He failed to tell the other officer there was any connection between him and the male being checked, even when it was clear, or should have been clear to him, that there was.”
The hearing heard PC A did alert SYP’s professional standards department to his relationship with his partner, stating: “Just to confirm I have not researched any of the above persons on police systems and I am aware it is a dumb thing to do.”
Chf Con Poultney said she had taken PC A’s personal mitigation, including “distressing news” he received shortly before one aspect of the misconduct, into account.
She concluded, however, that the “proven misconduct of PC A demonstrates a serious failure to adhere to the standards of behaviour...and his behaviour would seriously undermine public confidence in the police.”