Criminal investigation for misconduct in public office - Cheshire Constabulary, January 2022

We began a criminal investigation into an officer’s conduct in January 2022, following a referral from Cheshire Constabulary in December 2021.

We investigated the officer for an abuse of position for a sexual purpose, by taking advantage of a woman he knew to be vulnerable and in doing so damaged her trust in the police.

The officer was convicted following a trial on 1 February 2023 and sentenced to jail in April 2024 after being found guilty of misconduct in public office.

He was sentenced to three years and six months in jail at Chester Crown Court. He is also subject to an indefinite restraining order.

At an accelerated misconduct hearing held by the force prior to charges being brought against him, gross misconduct was found proven and the officer would have been dismissed had he not already resigned. He has been placed on the barred list meaning he cannot be employed in policing in the future.

We carefully considered whether there were any organisational learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system, and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.

In this case, the investigation has not identified any learning.