Yorkshire police aim for greater transparency

The two cases that took place last year are among the details of officers being dismissed or resigning over disciplinary matters published by South Yorkshire Police for the first time yesterday.

The inspector, who was dismissed without notice in May, is the most senior officer to leave the force for misconduct reasons in the three years of data revealed by the force. It is not known if he was charged or convicted after his shoplifting arrest.

Two months earlier a police constable in South Yorkshire, who “pushed a cyclist to the ground, injuring the palms of their hands, wrists, right knee and shin”, was also dismissed.

The details published on the force’s website also reveal details of an officer who resigned in October 2010 while facing a disciplinary hearing over a series of serious offences.

The Pc is said to have used “inappropriate...force against a detainee” as well as failing to properly secure another arrested person, allowing them to escape from a police car. He also discharged his spray for incapacitating offenders inside several police stations and sprayed the contents of a canister onto a golf ball before throwing it at his colleagues.

The officer, who left his post before a disciplinary hearing, is said to have punched another officer in the back “for no reason” and lied to his supervisor about carrying out an order.

The details revealed by South Yorkshire are the latest attempt by police forces to make themselves more open and transparent.

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner, plans to create an independent office for dealing with complaints to dispel the notion that officers are investigating themselves.

Her West Yorkshire counterpart Mark Burns-Williamson is also planning a similar move and has pledged to have “a much more thorough look at the whole way complaints and integrity issues are handled and improved”.

In February Home Secretary Theresa May announced plans for a national register of officers who have been struck off in a bid to stop dismissed officers being recruited by other forces.

South Yorkshire is thought to be the first force in the region to proactively publish details of officers being struck off, though others have done so in response to requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

The force will publish details of all dismissals as well as instances where officers resign in “disciplinary circumstances”. So far nine have been published, going back as far as May 2009, though no officers have been named.

Chief Constable David Crompton said: “This type of information is available in other professions and I think it is appropriate for us to move in a similar direction.

“The vast majority of the force’s officers act professionally and with integrity at all times. They do a fantastic job but sometimes a small minority let us down.

“The respect of the public has to be earned; by publishing the action taken against officers who do not meet the high standards expected by the public and the force, we intend to show that South Yorkshire Police does not shy away from taking decisive and robust action.”

Other dismissals in South Yorkshire include an officer who was arrested for assaulting their partner and damaging their property.

In September 2009, a detective constable was dismissed after being a passenger to a disqualifed motorist who was driving a stolen car. When the car crashed both the officer and the driver ran off.

One month later a colleague resigned after giving away details of an address and car which was “subsequently the subject of criminal damage”.

Comment: Page 12.