A FORMER special constable has been found to have breached standards of professional behaviour.
A misconduct panel heard Jake Barnes had dishonestly prepared invoices in an effort to reduce tax liability.
The 24-year-old, who had been with the force for four years and was most recently based in Bedworth, admitted to preparing the invoices while working in his main job – not with Warwickshire Police – in another area.
He was subject to a misconduct hearing at the force’s Leek Wootton headquarters last Friday (March 19) which was chaired by Chief Constable Martin Jelley.
Mr Barnes did not attending the hearing.
The former special’s conduct was assessed to be gross misconduct and deemed he had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in relation of Honesty and Integrity. The hearing determined had Barnes not previously resigned from the force, he would have been dismissed for his actions.
He has now been placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.
Head of professional standards Supt Warren Little said: “We expect all our officers and staff, including special officers, to uphold the highest standards of behaviour for the public to have confidence in the force.
“These standards apply both on and off duty, and in this case, Barnes admitted his acting dishonesty. This was a serious breach of the standards of professional behaviour we expect, and amounted to gross misconduct.”
The outcome of the misconduct hearing is subject to the usual appeals process.
