A police officer has been given a final written warning after an investigation found he revealed to a member of the public that a person had been arrested for an offence.
Police Sergeant Peter James, 49, who is based on East Sussex division, appeared before a three-day misconduct hearing held at Sussex Police headquarters from Monday (8 July) in front of a panel led by an Independent Legally Qualified Chair (LQC).
LQCs are selected from a list of independent, legally-qualified persons to conduct police misconduct hearings, and are governed by Police Conduct Regulations. LQCs work with the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and others to instil and embed transparency and proportionality into misconduct hearings.
The hearing was told that the officer had shared confidential information about an ongoing investigation by disclosing that a suspect had been arrested to a member of the public. This information was passed to someone known to the suspect who informed the person. They then subsequently made a complaint to the force.
The officer was found to have breached standards of professional behaviour and confidentiality which amounted to discreditable conduct and subsequently gross misconduct. He was given a final written warning for two years.
Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme, Deputy Head of Professional Standards, said: “Information provided to the police, or any information that we gather in the course of our work is strictly private, and will only ever be disclosed for a legitimate policing purpose.
“It has been proven that this officer disclosed information that he shouldn’t have done which is entirely inappropriate, discrediting the police service, and risking the public trust in providing privileged information to us.”
