Former officer barred from policing after falsifying details from domestic incident

A former police constable who made false or misleading statements after an incident he attended would have been dismissed from the force had he not already resigned.

A misconduct hearing was held at Force HQ on Monday (14 April) and was chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin. It was open to both the press and the public.

The hearing heard how former PC Anthony Crofts had attended a domestic incident involving two adults on February 4 last year.

On attendance, the victim disclosed a number of allegations to PC Crofts including that she had been locked in the property, assaulted and had her money stolen.

The victim said she did not wish to press charges as long as she got her belongings back and was given a lift home by officers.

During the journey, further allegations were reported to officers.

PC Crofts was responsible for inputting the incident into force systems when he arrived back at the station. He falsely recorded that no offences were disclosed to officers.

He also falsely recorded a Domestic Abuse Risk Assessment, which should have been completed at the scene.

The misconduct hearing heard how PC Crofts had failed to take any positive action in respect of the alleged offences and failed to follow the force’s domestic abuse procedure.

It was found that he breached the following standards of behaviour - honesty and integrity, duties and responsibilities, discreditable conduct and orders and instructions.

He resigned before the misconduct hearing was held.

The hearing found him guilty of gross misconduct, which would have resulted in immediate dismissal. He will also be placed on the police barred list.

The hearing was told PC Crofts had apologised for his actions ‘at the earliest opportunity’.

ACC Griffin said:

“The victim in this case disclosed a number of serious allegations to PC Crofts during his time at the property.

“It was vitally important that he not only responded to those allegations but also recorded them on police systems.

“Rather than record them, he falsely recorded that no offences were disclosed.

"The former officer was aware that he was not following policy and procedure.

"The was a significant deviation from policy which he was aware of and ignored. This is also a case in which the officer was dishonest, in connection with a police operation.

“Domestic violence and abuse is a local and national priority and therefore officers should always take every report seriously and offer an outstanding service to the public.

“PC Crofts' behaviour fell well below the high standards we would expect and he would have been dismissed from our organisation if he had not already resigned.

"The impropriety of a single officer can tarnish the reputation of a force and the service as a whole and undermine the trust and confidence that members of the public have in Nottinghamshire Police.

"The public have a right to expect that when an officer commits acts of serious misconduct that such behaviour will be challenged and dealt with to ensure that public trust and confidence in the behaviour of our officers is maintained."