Special constable banned over home searches

Matthew White resigned from Cleveland Police in July 2023

A former Cleveland Police special constable has been found guilty of gross misconduct after carrying out unlawful home searches in order to help his brother-in-law find a missing laptop.

Matthew White, 30, searched two addresses in June 2023 when he did not have the power to do so.

White resigned from the force in July 2023.

At a disciplinary hearing in Thornaby on Tuesday, White, who had previously resigned from the force, was barred from working in the police service.

White, who chose not to attend the hearing, was looking for a laptop belonging to his brother-in-law which had been left on a train and was suspected stolen, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The officer attended the properties on 12 June last year.

'Surreal' experience

Describing the first search, Temporary Inspector Simon Clarke said: “He [the householder] feels he was tricked into allowing him to enter his home when he did not have the lawful basis to do so.”

White was in the second property for 15 minutes and searched a bedroom.

The occupant said the experience was “surreal” and did not feel right.

No relevant paperwork was left at either premise, Insp Clarke said.

Interviewed under caution, the special constable admitted searching the properties with the intention of retrieving the laptop, saying he volunteered his warrant card.

PC Paul Crowley of Cleveland Police Federation, representing the former special constable, said White had a genuine belief that by showing his warrant card he was acting as a police officer and had placed himself on duty.

However, the hearing was told there was no record of him being on duty and neither the control room nor his fellow officers had been made aware, although White later submitted a crime report and told a superior.

Chief Constable Mark Webster, who oversaw the hearing, said the charges were sufficiently serious that White would have been immediately dismissed had he still remained in post.

Ch Con Webster said White would never be able to work within the police service again.