Hertfordshire Police: Calls for transparency over misconduct

The officer was found to have committed gross misconduct

A charity has criticised a decision not to name an ex-police officer found to have had "premeditated" sex with a vulnerable drunk woman.

The Hertfordshire officer, known as "former police constable B", has been added to the police Barred List.

Siobhan Nundram, from the Red Kite Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Service, said that "all police forces should be more transparent".

The force said the decision was made by the independent chair of the panel.

It later added the decision not to name the officer was as a result of a "direct request from the victim".

The misconduct hearing, held on 26 May, heard the former constable was off duty on a group night out.

He accompanied the woman, referred to by the panel as "person A", to her home address afterwards, got into bed with her, and had sexual intercourse with her "when she had been, and he knew she had been, heavily intoxicated".

'Deliberate and intentional'

The report stated: "The panel found that former constable B's admitted conduct breached the standards of professional behaviour, namely discreditable conduct and authority, respect and courtesy.

"The panel considered that former constable B's conduct was deliberate, intentional and premeditated for his own sexual gratification,

"It considered that person A was vulnerable in the context of the night in question and her capacity."

The panel found the constable would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had he remained in the service.

He was added to the College of Policing's Barred List after the Herts misconduct hearing.

Siobhan Nundram, board chairperson at Red Kite, referenced former Metropolitan Police officer David Carrick, recently jailed for multiple rapes, many of which took place in Hertfordshire.

"Since the David Carrick case, all police forces should be more transparent and rigorous about their procedures, and this should include naming police officers who have been dismissed in this manner," she said.

Fay Maxted, chief executive of The Survivors Trust sexual abuse support service, also voiced her concerns.

She said that while the former PC would no longer be able to work with vulnerable people, "it will undoubtedly cause people, and particularly women, to question how so many inappropriate people have been recruited and appointed as police officers".

"There needs to be drastic change in recruitment, vetting and ongoing supervision to make sure that anyone with exploitative behaviour or attitudes or displaying any misogyny is weeded out," she said.

Herts Police said the misconduct hearing was held by an independent panel led by a legally qualified chair, so the decision not to name the officer was not made by the force itself.

In a statement released later, it added the "unusual step of agreeing to grant the offending officer anonymity" was after a "direct request from the victim".

"The victim said that by naming him in the public domain, she would lose her right to privacy," said a police spokesperson.

"The needs of the victim remain paramount in the journey to obtain justice and this case demonstrates the flexibility of the misconduct system to support requests like this."