Rye police sergeant dismissed from Sussex Police
A police sergeant who pleaded guilty to stealing police property has been dismissed from Sussex Police.
A public gross misconduct hearing held at Sussex Police HQ in Lewes on Thursday (September 22) heard that Warren Downs, 46, a police sergeant based in the neighbourhood policing team at Rye, had pleaded guilty to the theft of his work-issued Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone and a Pro Dome CCTV camera at Crawley Magistrates’ Court on September 7.
The hearing found that Downs brought discredit on the police service and undermined confidence in Sussex Police, breaching standards of professional behaviour in respect of honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct. He was dismissed without notice.
Detective Superintendent Jez Graves said: “Sussex Police expects the highest personal and professional standards of anyone who works for us and any allegations of behaviour that do not meet those standards are rigorously investigated.
“It is important to show that the force has the ability to fairly investigate its own staff and this highlights our determination not to allow the name of Sussex Police to be tainted, nor bring into disrepute the enormous amount of good work carried out day-to-day by thousands of hard-working and enormously dedicated police officers and staff.”