Detective is given old job back after being sacked

Officer had appealed decision

ABIRMINGHAM detective sacked for using his personal phone to help identify a suspect in a murder case has won his job back after a successful appeal.

Detective Constable Paul Knowles was dismissed for gross misconduct last May, after claims his actions had potentially “jeopardised” the investigation.

He had worked for West Midlands Police for 19 years.

But the long-serving officer has now been reinstated after an appeal, instead being issued a warning over his actions.

The news was welcomed by Richard Cooke, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation.

He said that the officer should also receive backdated pay now he had been reinstated.

He said: “Paul Knowles was sacked. He shared evidential pictures with other officers on a personal mobile – essentially for speed – in order to help catch the offender in a murder case, which is a breach of policy and shouldn’t normally be done, except in extreme circumstances.

“He’s been reinstated by the Police Appeals Tribunal and they’ve substituted a written warning, which is quite substantially lower down the scale as a penalty.

“It’s not even a final written warning so that shows what the panel thought of it.

“We’re really pleased. There was never any malicious intent. It was a well-intentioned mistake. Nothing he did was dishonest.

“You can get cases where officers have done something, wrong but they’re not criminals.

“Public statements were made about him which said some pretty damning things about Paul at the time, that clearly weren’t justified. They should apologise.

“But he can now return to work with his head held high if he wants to and he should be entitled to be reimbursed for the pay he lost between when he was sacked and now.”

He added: “I spoke with him today. he’s pleased but been to hell and back. Good people don’t deserve that. His actions were guided by putting the public first.”

A probe by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) had originally found the officer’s actions had the ‘potential to jeopardise’ the identity of the suspect involved in the murder case.

The panel heard claims Det Con Knowles tried to cover up what he had done by telling a colleague to keep the exchange secret and to delete messages. Chair Andrea Pitt sacked the officer without notice. A second allegation of discreditable conduct was found not proven.

Deputy Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine had said at the time: “It’s disappointing to find an officer would jeopardise the hard work of other officers in an investigation and put at risk the conviction of an offender, not least for the victim’s family.

“Fortunately in this case, the outcome was not affected, and we have already spoken to the family involved to explain fully what happened.”