Yorkshire detective 'breached' police standards, misconduct panel rules

The misconduct panel today (Tuesday) upheld allegations against North Yorkshire Police Detective Constable Nick Lane after a seven-day hearing.

The panel found the officer had "breached standards of behaviour in respect of duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct", which included gross misconduct and misconduct.

Det Con Lane will be issued a final written warning by the force, the hearing concluded, and he will continue to work for North Yorkshire Police.

The panel also concluded his failings were due to an "unprecedented" workload.

Speaking after the outcome of the hearing, Tim Madgwick, Deputy Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, said: “In considering the evidence for this hearing, the panel acknowledged that the officer’s team had faced an unprecedented influx of work at the time in question, which had in turn created pressures on resources. The panel decided that this had had a bearing on DC Lane’s behaviour.“One of the harsh realities of policing is that our workload isn’t entirely in our own control. We have to respond to the demand society creates, and at times that demand can be high, and the job can be difficult. Working in these circumstances, the actions of this particular officer clearly fell short of expectations, but it is important to remember that the vast majority of our officers do a thoroughly professional job, whatever the circumstances."

Allegations against Det Con Lane included failure to record allegations and comply with on-going duties of disclosure; follow up basic lines of enquiry in investigations; progress investigations in a timely way and disclose information according to schedules.

Det Chf Con Madgwick said the force has restructured its teams and made significant investments in staffing, resources and training to address workloads for its officers.

He added: “We have, of course, taken note of the panel’s comments regarding the organisational situation that existed at the time under examination, which was several years ago. Since that time we have restructured our teams, and made several million pounds of investment in officers, resources and training, so our context is very different today.

“In accordance with the panel’s decision, DC Lane will remain at North Yorkshire Police under a final written warning. We will continue to provide the necessary support to ensure that this officer is able to carry out his duties fully and effectively.”