A former police constable has been dismissed from the force for not declaring financial difficulties during his vetting review.
PC Joseph Whant faced a gross misconduct hearing at Force HQ at Sherwood Lodge on Monday, 20 April.
PC Whant said he experienced financial difficulties during the Covid-19 pandemic before taking up his role at Nottinghamshire Police.
He told the hearing that he did not consider the debts were unmanageable and therefore did not disclose them on his vetting review. He said he is currently financially stable and his outstanding debts have been paid off.
A thorough investigation was undertaken by Nottinghamshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate.
They found that the officer had breached the following standards of professional behaviour, including honesty and integrity, duties and responsibilities and discreditable conduct.
A gross misconduct hearing found that he had breached these standards, and he was dismissed from the force and placed on the police barred list.
Deputy Chief Constable Rob Griffin said:
“As you would expect, we take vetting and vetting reviews extremely seriously at Nottinghamshire Police.
“It is vitally important that officers and police staff are honest and transparent during these reviews. This former officer failed to provide important details about his financial situation despite it being very clear these details needed to be declared.
“Yesterday’s outcome is an important reminder for all officers and staff across our organisation to ensure they are open and transparent during these reviews.
“We have stringent processes in place to ensure that anyone who fails to declare matters is dealt with robustly.”
