Gross Misconduct Hearing Outcome - Special Constable Declan Ellison

It was determined that a special constable would have been dismissed following a gross misconduct disciplinary hearing held by Northamptonshire Police earlier this week. 

A gross misconduct disciplinary hearing was held by Northamptonshire Police at Force Headquarters on September 11, 2023 in relation to Special Constable Declan Ellison.

It was alleged that the officer concerned:

Breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of his handling of confidential information relating to the arrest and processing of a member of the public.

It is alleged that between April 18 and April 21, 2022 the officer concerned breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to:

• Confidentiality
• Discreditable Conduct

The former officer had resigned from Northamptonshire Police prior to the hearing being held, and did not attend the hearing. 

The panel considered the available evidence and found:

1. all charges and particulars of charges proved by admission. It concluded that it was fair to do this because Mr Ellison had been advised and represented throughout the proceedings, including at the hearing, and in his absence, it was reasonable to rely on his representative confirming his full acceptance of all matters alleged against him. PS McMahon confirmed at the hearing that it was still the case that Mr Ellison accepted the facts as alleged, the breaches of professional standards and that they amount to gross misconduct.
2. The panel also considered the admissions in the context of the documentary evidence. It noted the “chain of evidence” referred to by the AA in its opening, leading from the officer to his partner to a witness and onto female one, the complainant. It noted that, although there was no statement from witness one, there was a statement from the investigating officer who spoke to witness one who referred to the person in question disclosing the information as “you are talking about Declan, aren’t you”. Although the association between Mr Ellison and female one and the extent of his knowledge of her is not clear, the panel accepted that there was sufficient evidence of an association leading back to Mr Ellison’s partner, which taken in conjunction with his admissions, enabled the panel to be sure that Mr Ellison disclosed the information of the arrest of Female one as alleged.

 And that the matter amounted to Gross Misconduct. 

• The panel took account of The Police (Conduct, Complaints, Misconduct and Appeal Tribunal) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, and of Para 1 to Schedule 1 of the 2020 Police (Conduct) Regulations which amends the definition of “disciplinary action for gross misconduct” in Reg 2(1) in the case of a former officer to mean “a finding that the officer concerned would have been dismissed if the officer had not ceased to be a member of the police force …”, and of the COP guidance on former officers at para 3.31 which states that a panel which finds gross misconduct  for a former officer can consider two outcomes: disciplinary action or no disciplinary action. If disciplinary action is imposed it can only be that the former officer would have been dismissed if still serving as no other action can be enforced.
• Given its decision that disciplinary action was appropriate, the panel concluded that for the charge and particulars found proved Mr Ellison would have been dismissed if still serving.

Northamptonshire Police is committed to delivering a policing service our communities can trust. To achieve this, it is vital that our officers, staff and volunteers uphold the high standards of behaviour expected of everyone who works in policing.

The vast majority of our policing colleagues do this day in, day out. However, we know there are some who continue to let the public, the service and their colleagues down, and we remain as determined as ever to hold to account those whose conduct and integrity falls short of the standards expected.

Anyone who has concerns about the behaviour or conduct of anyone who works or volunteers for Northamptonshire Police is encouraged to report it. You can do so by calling 101 or report online at www.northants.police.uk/complaints. 

All allegations of misconduct are taken seriously and our Professional Standards Department works diligently to investigate such allegations to ensure those who fail to meet these standards are held to account.