Former Hertfordshire officer barred from policing after lying about having a driving licence
PC Alexander Simpson only held a provisional driving licence
A Hertfordshire police officer misled his supervisors after saying he had a full driving licence, a misconduct panel has concluded.
PC Alexander Simpson, who has since left Hertfordshire police, reportedly told his supervisors that he had passed his driving test in 2017 and held a valid driving licence allowing him to drive automatic vehicles.
However, when police checked with the relevant authorities, they found that Simpson only held a provisional driving licence.
The issue was revealed in early 2024 when PC Simpson was asked to complete a ‘check drive’ with the police driving school.
He was required to provide a copy of his driving licence for inspection, but Simpson instead only showed a photo of a document and was not allowed to complete the check drive.
A police misconduct panel by Andy Prophet, chief constable at Herts police, said: “I find that on the balance of probabilities former PC Simpson did not hold a valid full driving licence, did mislead his supervisory officers and therefore failed to uphold the highest standards of professional behaviour expected of a police officer.
“The consequence of such behaviour only serves to undermine public trust and confidence and therefore cannot be justified.”
The panel found that Simpson’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and would have led to his dismissal had he still been employed by Herts police. He has also been added to the policing barred list.