Cop sent inappropriate texts to woman he met during missing person investigation, misconduct panel finds
A police officer who sent ‘inappropriate text messages’ to a woman he met in the course of his duties would have been sacked, had he not resigned.
Those were the findings of a panel in an accelerated misconduct hearing, which was held in private on Monday, August 19.
The officer, who has not been named, was 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.
Documents published by South Yorkshire Police state that the panel found that the officer’s conduct breached the police’s expected Standards of Professional Behaviour, relating to descreditable conduct and honesty and integrity.
His conduct therefore amounted to gross misconduct, the documents add.
“The outcome of the hearing was that the officer would have been dismissed without notice had he not already resigned,” the report states.
Announcing the hearing last week, South Yorkshire Police stated that the hearing would be held in private, and ‘therefore no members of the public will be allowed to attend’ - but did not provide a reason for the decision.
A second accelerated misconduct hearing held on Monday, relating to the alleged conduct of officers accused of engaging in sexual activity with each other while on duty, was also held in private.
Gross misconduct was also proven at the conclusion of their misconduct hearing, and they were dismissed without notice.
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 was provided in either case.
Last 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 South Yorkshire Police officers involved in the two misconduct hearings 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 position held by the officers in question, and was told they all hold the rank of police constable.