Yorkshire police officer accused of using computer system 'with no legitimate policing purpose'

Police constable Inderjit Bassi’s actions will be examined during a misconduct hearing at the force’s Professional Standards Department in Sheffield on Thursday, May 26.

The officer has been charged with gross misconduct, as he allegedly misused the computer system in March 2020 and allegedly failed to tell the force he was associated with a suspected criminal.

If the charges are proven, he could be dismissed from the force.

In a statement, the force said: “It is alleged that the officer has undertaken checks on the South Yorkshire Police computer systems in March 2020.

“The checks on police systems were undertaken with no legitimate policing purpose. It is also alleged that the officer failed to notify South Yorkshire Police of an association with someone believed to be involved in criminality.

“These are breaches of the Standards of Professional Behaviour in respect of confidentiality, honesty and integrity, duties and responsibilities, orders & instructions and discreditable conduct.

“The matters set out above are breaches of the standards which are so serious as to justify dismissal and therefore constitute gross misconduct.”

At a misconduct hearing in March, former detective sergeant David Walker was cleared of failing to act on information supplied to him about alleged child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham.

Jayne Senior, who ran the Risky Business youth project and who was a key whistleblower in the CSE scandal which engulfed the town, told a police misconduct hearing that former detective sergeant David Walker ignored important information she supplied to him.

But Mr Walker, who ran the Rotherham child abuse investigation unit from 2008 to 2012, denied he had not acted on nor properly recorded intelligence Ms Senior supplied, telling the hearing how he was dedicated to protecting children and even led one of the most successful operations against grooming gangs operating in the area.

A misconduct panel, chaired by an independent lawyer, cleared the former detective of all the allegations and said he “took entirely appropriate action” and was “hardworking, diligent and professional in his approach”.

Mr Walker was one of 47 officers and former officers who were investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in the wake of the 2014 Jay Report, which found more than 1,400 children were groomed, trafficked and sexually abused in the town.

The watchdog has said eight officers were found to have a case to answer for misconduct and six had a case to answer for gross misconduct, but none of them have been dismissed from the force.

Five have faced sanctions from management action up to a final written warning.

The IOPC has yet to publish its final report into the investigation it called Operation Linden, which is the second largest operation carried out by the watchdog after its Hillsborough inquiry.