Police officer sacked over data breach

An Avon and Somerset police officer has been dismissed without notice for misconduct.

Chief Constable Sarah Crew decided that a hearing into the case should be held in public, for “reasons of openness and transparency.”

Previously it was decided the officer’s identity would be kept anonymous.

However, this was then challenged by our sister publication Bristol Live, “as an unnecessary affront to transparency because only in rare and exceptional circumstances should a police officer accused of wrongdoing have their name withheld from public scrutiny.”

A misconduct notice was issued on the Avon and Somerset Police website, naming the officer as PC Kevin Curd.

He was dismissed without notice for gross misconduct - and added to a national barred list - preventing him from working in policing or other law enforcement agencies again.

When the hearing had started, details of the allegations were thought to identify and impact vulnerable people who had not been named in the original hearing notice.

This included juveniles, and so Chief Constable Sarah Crew decided to impose a restricted reporting order as a “proportionate response to prevent this from happening.”

The hearing, held on Friday, November 4, heard how PC Curd had looked up details of two call logs on police systems in March last year while off-duty. It was decided he had had no licit reason for doing so in the first place.

PC Curd then disclosed the contents of one of said call logs to a thirdparty outside of the force with no policing intention.

The allegations that had been proved related purely to the fact PC Curd had accessed and disclosed data held on police systems inappropriately.

In a statement, Avon and Somerset Police said: “Rooting out officers who betray the professional standards expected of them is of paramount importance if we are to restore and uphold levels of public trust and confidence in policing.

“Holding hearings in public is a crucial part of this process.

“The presumption is always that a misconduct hearing, or a special case or accelerated hearing, should be held in public, to ensure we’re as open as transparent as we can be, and there is clear accountability around the decisions made, either by a panel led by an independent Legally Qualified Chair, or in the case of an accelerated hearing, in front of a Chief Constable.”