A police officer has been barred for gross misconduct after she lied whe she said that she had watched security camera footage that was to be used in evidence in a criminal trial.
Sussex Police said: “Gross misconduct has been proven against a former Sussex Police officer following an accelerated hearing.
“Ex-Detective Constable Jessica Newey was subject to an accelerated misconduct hearing on Thursday 19 March, relating to breaches of the professional standards of honest and integrity, orders and instructions, duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct.
“The hearing heard that ex-DC Jessica Newey had falsely claimed to have viewed CCTV submitted as evidence to a criminal trial.
“She proactively admitted the breach to her supervisor, resulting in an investigation by the force’s Professional Standards Department and a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
“The outcome of the criminal trial was not impacted by ex-DC Newey’s behaviour and there is no evidence of any similar breaches relating to any other investigations with which she was involved.
“Gross misconduct was proven in relation to all of the breaches.
“Ex-DC Newey was told she would have been dismissed had she not already resigned and was placed on the College of Policing barred list stopping her from serving as a police officer in future.”
Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme said: “Maintaining the integrity of investigations is crucial to securing justice for victims.
“That relies on the honesty and diligence of our officers and, where that falls short, we will take appropriate action.
“While the behaviour here only came to our attention due to the officer reporting it herself, it still represented a serious breach of our professional standards and, had she not resigned, she would have been dismissed as a result.”
