Former Cheshire Police constable Andrew Hein has been dismissed without notice after failing to act on a key piece of evidence found at the home of a convicted paedophile.
PC Hein visited the man, who had been charged and later convicted of 'extremely serious' child sex offences, at his home on December 13 last year. During the visit, he identified an unregistered tablet that breached the man's sexual risk order, but Cheshire's chief constable Mark Roberts found that Hein failed to take action.
Device seized a month later
When police seized the device a month later, its browsing history had been deleted. The tablet could be used to connect to the internet. Chf Con Roberts said the absence of a proper report from PC Hein's visit meant he could not be certain it was the same device.
It was alleged that Hein failed to take appropriate action in relation to the device during the visit, and that he made false statements about the visit on policing systems. At the time, Hein was said to have worked in a unit that managed the risk of offenders who present a significant risk to the public.
Clear breaches of duties
Hein was aware of the then-alleged offences against the paedophile, which consisted of possession of indecent images and incitement of children to engage in sexual acts, communication and grooming.
Chf Con Roberts said: "As such, it must have been apparent to PC Hein that robust management and enforcement of his devices under the (Interim) Sexual Risk Order was essential to mitigate the risk that the offender posed to children. Taking the most benevolent interpretation of events as outlined today a predatory paedophile had been in possession of an electronic device capable of facilitating like offences, whilst in hospital, and upon his return to his home whereupon the device was located in his bedroom."
The then-constable's lack of action resulted in the sex offender having potential to commit further offences. Chf Con Roberts added: "The failure to properly document the visit compounded this as it circumvented initial management review to identify the risk, and limited future investigation of the device.
"As such I consider these clear breaches of his duties and responsibilities, which amount to Gross Misconduct. Further to this, this risk should have been apparent to him, which leads me to believe that. PC Hein's failure to properly document his decision making was borne out of dishonesty, rather than forgetfulness."
Dismissal for gross misconduct
Hein was described as an experienced officer whose role in sex offender management is 'critical to maintaining public safety'. He accepted he knew of the existence of the device but determined there was no further action needed. He was dismissed without notice for gross misconduct following a misconduct hearing on October 22.
