Detective demoted for fake signature on statement
PA MediaA detective has been demoted in rank after she was found to have signed a statement under the name of another officer.
Northumbria Police's Det Sgt Katrina Moore filed a signed statement in the name of a junior officer. The statement was later used by the Crown Prosecution Service in a case.
The fake signature was discovered and Moore was brought before a misconduct hearing on 11 December where she admitted breaching police standards of professional behaviour.
Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine ruled Moore's actions amounted to gross misconduct but she said "dismissal could have been justified but is not required".
In her outcome report, Jardine said: "My findings are that this officer has, on one occasion, made a serious error of judgment in an otherwise unblemished career.
"She was attempting to assist in the efficient progress of an investigation and, whilst I have found that she did not appreciate that what she was doing was wrong, she ought to have done."
'Close to dismissal'
After ruling Moore's actions amounted to gross misconduct, the chief constable weighed up whether she should be punished with a final written warning, a reduction in rank or dismissal without notice.
The most severe punishment was deemed unnecessary because Moore had done "the wrong thing but for the right reasons and without serious impact".
Moore was demoted to the rank of constable.
"I am satisfied that the officer understands the gravity of her error, that she is genuinely remorseful and that there will be no repetition of this or any similar behaviour," Jardine said.
"The officer knows how close she has come today to being dismissed.
"Her dismissal would not therefore protect the public to any greater extent than reducing her in rank."
