West Midlands Police officer sacked for gross misconduct

An officer who inappropriately accessed police records more than 2,000 times has been sacked for gross misconduct.

A West Midlands Police misconduct hearing acknowledged PC Shannon Parsons felt “isolated and disconnected” due to working part-time and returning from maternity leave, but had breached standards of professional behaviour.

Parsons had claimed there was a policing purpose to her searches, the panel said, and was seeking to “keep herself up to date, informed and was often in a position to support and assist other colleagues in operational matters”.

However, chair of the panel Debra Tedds concluded the searches were carried out for the officer’s “own personal benefit”.

As a result, Parsons was dismissed without notice and barred from future work in policing.

The searches took part over a period of about five years, the panel heard, and many included incidents near her home address.

Parsons had an otherwise unblemished career in policing in the West Midlands, lasting 13 years, but was said to show no insight or remorse “as to the potential harm that has been caused by accessing the amount of information over a significant time period,” according to the panel’s report.