Gross misconduct hearing outcome - officer dismissed
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A police officer would have been dismissed without notice following a gross misconduct disciplinary hearing.
The gross misconduct disciplinary hearing was held by Northamptonshire Police virtually at Force Headquarters on July 15 and 16, 2024, in relation to Constable PC 0229 Daniel Atkinson.
It was alleged that the officer concerned:
- Failed to maintain an appropriate professional boundary with junior female colleagues and/or behaved in an inappropriately familiar manner;
- behaved in an inappropriate manner towards female members of the public;
- made inappropriately sexual and/ or personal comments to junior female colleagues about those colleagues and/or members of the public;
- touched junior female colleagues in a way which was unwanted and/or inappropriately personal.
It was alleged that the officer concerned breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to:
- Authority Respect and Courtesy
- Discreditable Conduct
- Equality and Diversity.
The officer resigned from Northamptonshire Police prior to the hearing being held, and did not attend the hearing.
The panel considered the available evidence and found a breach of the standards for authority respect and courtesy proved and that amounted to Gross Misconduct.
The panel determined that, had Constable PC 0229 Daniel Atkinson still been a serving Police Officer, he would have been dismissed without notice.
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.