Runcorn & Widnes Weekly News

Statistics reveal police conviction­s

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NEARLY 20 serving police officers in Cheshire have a criminal conviction.

Cheshire Constabula­ry confirmed in a report that 18 of their officers or PCSOs have a conviction for a criminal offence but they say details cannot be revealed due to the Data Protection Act.

The figure was revealed based on a freedom of informatio­n (FOI) request published by Sky News.

Their report shows that more than 200 serving police officers in the UK have criminal conviction­s for offences including assault, burglary, drug possession and animal cruelty.

Several forces across the UK revealed how many of their serving police officers had criminal conviction­s as part of the freedom of informatio­n request.

North Wales Police said 20 police officers and five PCSOs have criminal conviction­s, including a sergeant convicted of assault, two officers guilty of drug possession and two officers convicted of cruelty to animals

However, Cheshire police have declined to reveal any further details of their 18 serving police officers, saying it would breach the Data Protection

Act.

A Cheshire Constabula­ry spokespers­on said: “The details are not being released as it would breach the Data Protection Act.”

Meanwhile, twothirds of police forces across the UK refused to submit their figures as part of the FOI investigat­ion.

Home Office guidelines state that police forces ‘should not recruit people with cautions or conviction­s, which may call into question the integrity of the applicant or the service’.

But the guidance states that ‘each case should be dealt with on its individual merits’.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Profession­al Standards, Chief Constable Craig Guildford said:

“Having a criminal record has never been an automatic bar to joining the police or many other public sector profession­s.

“Applicants must declare their conviction­s and every case is assessed and considered by vetting department­s using national guidance.

“We review what someone was convicted of, the sentence they received, how old they were at the time, what the circumstan­ces were and how long ago it was. We also re-vet officers throughout their service and have higher levels of vetting for particular posts.

“The vast majority of police officers and staff fulfil their duties in serving the public to the highest standard.

“Society rightly expects the police service to act with honesty and integrity and any instance of conduct falling below that standard, or when a crime has been committed, will be dealt with directly based upon the evidence presented as nobody is above the law.”

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