Eight Avon and Somerset officers kept jobs after misconduct rulings

The officers continued to serve despite gross misconduct hearings ruling against them, the force admitted

Eight Avon and Somerset Police officers found guilty of gross misconduct continued to work for the service.

The information was revealed by the constabulary, following a performance and accountability board hearing.

All eight officers, dealt with since 2018, remain employed by the force despite the ruling against them.

Chief Constable Sarah Crew told the panel however, all proven cases of gross misconduct since she took charge have resulted in dismissal.

The force revealed the cases after facing questions in light of crimes committed by serving officers in the Metropolitan Police.

The offences of Avon and Somerset officers included sexual harassment of a colleague, a discriminatory comment overheard by a colleague, misuse of police data and inappropriate viewing/sharing of CCTV.

The force's Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Shelford, had asked the board hearing why there were officers disciplined for gross misconduct still in the job.

'Difficult to manage'

"I'm not going to ask you today, but I will ask you to come back to one of our future performance and accountability boards, to look at the numbers of those officers who are still serving in Avon and Somerset, to be able to give the public some confidence about that," he said.

Ms Crew admitted it was a problem when disciplinary panels do not dismiss officers following a gross misconduct ruling.

"That makes it very difficult to manage the risk of that individual," said Ms Crew.

"Many times that will trigger a vetting review and the person may not be able to actually do the job that they're doing, because their vetting doesn't allow them to do it, but they're still in the organisation."

Chief Constable Sarah Crew said all the gross misconduct cases she has chaired led to an officer being sacked

The Avon and Somerset force said vetting practices are now being reviewed and improved nationally, according to The Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Vetting includes checking employment history, signs of financial vulnerability like debts, past allegations or convictions, social media use, and any relatives and associates who may pose a risk.

This process is supposed to stop officers from working in the service who could pose a risk to public safety or to public confidence in policing.

'Vetting a snapshot'

According to Deputy Chief Constable Nikki Watson, the force regularly checks the background of serving officers for any potential risks. This includes monitoring when officers change roles, or even move house.

She added every officer and staff member is also checked on a national police database, to make sure the force was "leaving no stone unturned".

"There are quite a few ways we can review vetting or we can complete health checks on members of staff where they have a change in circumstances," she said.

"So for example, if somebody changes some of their information on our system, such as changing their address.

"The thing about vetting is that it is a snapshot in time, and we need to be very vigilant and conscious all the time."