A Merseyside Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) with gambling debts has been sacked for "financially exploiting" a vulnerable elderly woman.
Police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) directed an investigation, carried out by Merseyside Police, after concerns were raised about the behaviour of the officer. Detectives found evidence of frequent visits by the PCSO to the building where the woman lived, while CCTV showed him visiting her in hospital when he had no policing purpose for doing so.
The investigation revealed that the PCSO had "significant gambling debts" and had been given money by the woman on more than one occasion. He was interviewed under criminal caution and admitted he had regular contact with the woman, described as vulnerable "due to her age and health", but denied accepting any gifts from her. He also admitted to having a gambling problem in the past, although denied being heavily in debt.
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On conclusion of the investigation in October 2022, the IOPC determined the PCSO had a case to answer for gross misconduct for potential breaches of the police staff standards of professional behaviour, in relation to "discreditable conduct" and "orders and instructions".
Merseyside Police arranged a misconduct hearing for the PCSO, which was held on Tuesday 4 July. As PCSOs are classed as civilian staff rather than warranted officers, this hearing took place in private, under national policy governing police misconduct hearings. The case against him was found proven and he was dismissed without notice.
IOPC Director of Major Investigations, Steve Noonan, said: “The PCSO’s behaviour was entirely inappropriate and has no place in policing. He would have been well aware of the woman’s vulnerability, and yet chose to exploit this for his own gain.
“While much of their contact was while he was off duty, his actions show a complete disrespect for the standards expected of someone in his position.
“It is thanks to the actions of a colleague who challenged and reported this behaviour that he has now been held accountable, and officers were able to prevent the woman from further exploitation. The work of Merseyside Police, with independent oversight from the IOPC, has ensured he will now be barred from working for the police in future.”
The PCSO will now be added to the College of Policing’s Barred List prohibiting him from holding any policing job in the country.
On conclusion of the investigation, the IOPC said it found there was insufficient evidence to support a referral to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Chief Superintendent Jennifer Wilson, head of the force’s professional standards unit, said: “Merseyside Police prides itself on employing officers and staff who uphold the highest standards of behaviour and integrity, whether on or off duty.
“Unfortunately there are occasions when individuals choose not to adhere to those professional standards. When this happens we will take swift and effective action to identify them, remove them and where possible take disciplinary action against them
“The behaviour demonstrated by this member of staff was reprehensible and is in no way representative of the vast majority of our staff and officers who do exemplary work day in and day out to keep the public of Merseyside safe.
“His actions were identified as being unacceptable by a colleague and rightly reported which has allowed us to take immediate and positive action to remove him from the force.
“We have improved and simplified mechanisms to encourage officers and staff to report any concerns of wrongdoing, unethical behaviour or inappropriate activity by those who work for Merseyside Police, and to do so anonymously and in confidence through our Call it out App.
“The unacceptable action of individuals will not be allowed to damage the good name built up by our officers and staff and we will continue to work to ensure that we retain the public’s confidence in the force.”
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