1,000 police have criminal records

Wednesday, 11 March 2009 12:00 AM

By politics.co.uk staff

Over 1,000 serving police officers have criminal records, according to new figures revealed today.

The data, which comes from a freedom of information request made by the Liberal Democrats, includes 59 convictions for assault, 93 for dishonesty and even three for burglary.

"I can't see how an officer convicted of dishonesty can perform duties effectively.

"Any prosecutor would be reluctant to call them as a witness for fear of being taken apart by the defence," said Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne.

Under current law, a criminal conviction does not automatically lose a police officer his job.

Peter Fahy, chief constable of Greater Manchester police, told the Sun: "Where an officer has committed misconduct, a range of disciplinary actions can be taken including a reprimand, fine and reduction in rank or dismissal. Each case is judged on its merits."

The Metropolitan police have the highest number of police with convictions, with 274.

Tags:
• crime
,
• domestic policy
,
• policing and crime