A Norfolk police woman has been sacked after she failed to blow the whistle on drug dealing by her partner and others.
PC Grace Lee was found to have turned a blind to evidence of involvement of drug misuse and supply.
A misconduct hearing, overseen by Norfolk chief constable Paul Sanford, found it “should have been obvious” to the officer what was happening but that she had failed to take action.
The officer has since left the police but finding her conduct had amounted to gross misconduct the disciplinary hearing said had she still been a serving officer she would have been dismissed without notice.
READ MORE: Norfolk police sees steep rise in officer misconduct cases
READ MORE: Norfolk PC sacked for female colleague visits while on duty
The full extent of the illegal activities she ignored were not revealed at the accelerated hearing, held at Norfolk Constabulary headquarters at Wymondham.
However, it was told she had failed to record intelligence of knowledge of drug taking and the supply of drugs by associates including her partner.
She was found to have not complied with the Disclosable Associations policy which requires all police officers to disclose connections with criminals or those who pose a risk of corruption.
Despite the former officer not being present, Mr Sanford said he was satisfied the disciplinary proceedings should go ahead in her absence.
She had declined to attend or send a representative and had said she had nothing to add to a statement she gave when interviewed by investigators, he was told.
READ MORE: Sacked Norfolk PC watched assault video 'out of curiosity'
READ MORE: Drunk Norfolk police officer sacked over nightclub incident
READ MORE: Hit-and-run police officer WILL face misconduct charges
“From the evidence presented it is clear that Miss Lee breached the standard of professional behaviour expected of police officers in respect of honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct,” said Mr Sanford.
He said it was “not a case of ignorance” and that she had “suspected but failed to act”.
“It is through the diligence of her colleagues that the evidence was eventually brought to attention,” he added.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here