The breaches found proven during a misconduct hearing were honesty and integrity, orders and instructions, confidentiality and discreditable conduct at a level which amounted to Gross Misconduct.
DC Christopher Leslie carried out 15 searches between 2008 and 2014 on police databases that were not for a policing purpose. He also failed to inform the Professional Standards Department of a notifiable association
On Thursday 29 October 2020 a misconduct hearing panel, led by Legally Qualified Chair Darren Snow, ruled that DC Leslie’s actions breached the standards of professional behaviour and amounted to Gross Misconduct.
After hearing mitigation the panel decided that he would receive a final written warning.
Following the outcome Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills said: “When, on one of the very small number of occasions, an officer falls below the standards expected of all our staff we will address it, as we have in this case.
“All members of staff are asked to complete and pass a yearly GDPR course to ensure their knowledge on data protection is up to date. They are also regularly reminded of their responsibilities when it comes to access to data and ensuring they have a legitimate policing purpose to do so. It also highlights the need for officers and staff to inform the organisation when they have a notifiable association with anyone.”
