Gross misconduct hearing - PCs dismissed without notice
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Two police officers have been dismissed without notice following a gross misconduct disciplinary hearing.
An accelerated gross misconduct disciplinary hearing was held by Northamptonshire Police at Force Headquarters today January 3, 2025, in relation to PC 1430 Robert Rowland and PC 1071 Thomas Lightfoot, and was chaired by Chief Constable Ivan Balhatchet.
It was alleged that PC Rowlands’ conduct:
- Lacked respect and courtesy for members of the public and/or police colleagues
- The officer made comments that were discriminatory and/or racially offensive
- Their comments were discriminatory as they referenced female colleagues and members of the public in a derogatory and/or abusive manner
- The comments advocated violence
- The officer failed to challenge and/or report a colleague for conduct which was discriminatory and/or lacked respect and courtesy for colleagues and/ or members of the public
- The officers conduct was likely to undermine public confidence in the police service.
With regards to PC Lightfoot it was alleged his conduct:
- Displayed behaviour which lacked respect and courtesy for members of the public and/ or police colleagues
- Made comments that were discriminatory and/or racially offensive
- The comments were discriminatory as he referenced female colleagues and members of the public in a derogatory and/or abusive manner
- The officer failed to challenge and/or report a colleague for conduct which was discriminatory and/or lacked respect and courtesy for colleagues and/or members of the public
- Furthermore the conduct was likely to undermine public confidence in the police service.
It was alleged that the officers concerned breached the standards of professional behaviour relating to:
- Authority, Respect and Courtesy
- Discreditable Conduct
- Equality and Diversity
- Challenging and Reporting improper conduct
- Honesty and integrity (Integrity only)
PC Rowland resigned from Northamptonshire Police a day prior to the hearing being held, and did not attend the hearing.
PC Lightfoot was a serving police officer at the time of the hearing but did not attend.
Both officers admitted the allegations.
The Chief Constable considered the available evidence and found the matter proved as Gross Misconduct.
The Chief Constable determined that, had PC Rowland still been a serving Police Officer, he would have been dismissed without notice and determined that the most suitable outcome for PC Lightfoot was dismissal without notice.
The Chief constable added “As the Chief Constable of Northamptonshire Police, to hear and read about such vile behaviour, I am disgusted. These Officers are a total disgrace to the public of Northamptonshire, this Force and the wider police service. As I have stated before, I will continue to take the strongest possible action to root out people like these Officers, who should be nowhere near the police service.
"The public, and honourable, decent police officers who work hard through their whole careers to serve the public, deserve no less. The Officers’ conduct is entirely incompatible with continuing to serve. I have no hesitation in dismissing PC Lightfoot without notice and finding former PC Rowland would have been dismissed.”
Speaking after the hearing, Deputy Chief Constable Ash Tuckley said: “You can’t feel anything other than utter revulsion at the deeply racist, sexist and misogynistic messaging that went on between these two individuals over a long period of time on WhatsApp.
“Furthermore, Lightfoot took it upon himself to take indecent photos on police premises immediately following deployment at a number of serious incidents.
“When these allegations of gross misconduct came to light, the Force moved quickly to hold an accelerated misconduct hearing to ensure they are both removed from policing.
“Their appalling conduct is another depressing blow to the overwhelming majority of hard-working officers in Northamptonshire Police whose primary purpose is to protect the communities they serve.
“Once again, we have taken steps to root out people who have no place in the police service and our zero-tolerance of these types of behaviours remains as solid as ever.
“Our Professional Standards Department, now one of the biggest in terms of the size of our Force, has increased in size in the past year and we have brought in a number of very experienced detectives whose job it is to tackle police-perpetrated crime.
“Within Force we have further tightened our vetting processes and improved reporting channels who want to disclose misconduct issues and we continue to urge staff to come forward if they have concerns in this respect.
“Building the trust and confidence of the public in policing is absolutely imperative as is our unrelenting determination to improve culture and we will continue to go above and beyond in our resolve to do that.”
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.