Action taken against hundreds of police officers for misconduct

Inappropriate relationships, use of force, financial irregularities and confidentiality issues were just some of the reasons why 27 officers were sacked across the region in the past five years.

It comes after a police community support officer who worked in Shropshire was dismissed earlier this month for gross misconduct after an allegation related to a personal relationship.

Last year, two police inspectors were hauled before a misconduct hearing and dismissed without notice over financial irregularities relating to a business interests.

The month before, in September, a police constable was handed a final written warning for inappropriate involvement in a case relating to a family member.

A seventh West Mercia Police worker has been issued with a misconduct notice over their initial dealings with Georgia Williams killer Jamie Reynolds. Reynolds murdered Georgia in 2013, four years after he escaped with a police caution for trying to strangle another teenager.

The latest figures show that 365 officers of West Mercia Police and Dyfed-Powys Police were issued with a misconduct notice in the last five years. Of those, 240 faced some kind of action and the rest escaped punishement.

Today's figures also reveal that members of the public complained about officers in West Mercia Police, which covers Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, on 2,688 occasions.

Some of the allegations are still under investigation, some disproved and others resolved or even heard by the courts..

Upheld complaints, which are treated differently to formal misconduct notices, relate to issues varying from assault, neglect or failure in duty, mishandling of property, incivility, inpoliteness and intolerance. improper disclosure of information, traffic irregularity and irregularity in evidence or perjury.

Superintendent Gary Watson, head of the Professional Standards at West Mercia Police, said: "The vast majority of our officers act with the utmost integrity. It is vital that on the few occasions where we do fall short of delivering the correct level of service, we acknowledge that as soon as possible, and do everything we can to put that right. "

Of 337 formal misconduct notices issued to officers in the West Mercia force, a total of 20 were dismissed, 19 got a final written warning, eight retired or resigned, 32 cases are live and in 122 instances 'no action' was taken.

Dyfed-Powys Police officers were served with 28 notices in the same time period. A total of 14 other staff members also were served with a misconduct notice and of these one was demoted and another dismissed.

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