South Wales Police: Former PC guilty of gross misconduct

Former police officer Aaron Phelps breached professional standards

A former police officer with links to notorious criminals has been found to have committed gross misconduct.

Aaron Phelps, a former South Wales Police officer, failed to disclose that he personally knew people involved in serious crimes.

His actions could have caused harm to the reputation of the police, according to Chief Constable Jeremy Vaughan.

The former PC would have been sacked had he not resigned, Mr Vaughan's report added.

Mr Phelps gave different accounts about his actions when interviewed, leading the misconduct panel to conclude he had breached the professional standard of honesty and integrity.

When interviewed by the anti-corruption unit, he said he had been "scared to flag [things] up" and had been concerned about his career.

"At interview the former officer admitted that he thought his career would be over as a result of his actions and repeatedly stated that he had messed up, or similar words to that effect," the report said.

It added that he failed to submit a notification form in relation to another associate "out of shame".

Honesty, openness and transparency

The Chief Constable said the former officer's actions had caused reputational harm, which affects the police service and public confidence in the service as a whole.

"I am satisfied that former PC Phelps's actions would be sufficient to cause damage to that reputation," he said.

An aggravating factor was the fact that the former PC gave dishonest accounts to interviewers, he added.

"There is particular importance attached to the need for police officers to be honest, open and transparent about any criminal associates that they may have. The unique position of police officers and the scope for abuse of these positions and/or of coercion by criminals requires police officers to be proactive in coming forward in respect of any potential concern."

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