Serving officer dismissed – West Yorkshire

A serving British Transport Police (BTP) officer has been dismissed without notice, following a public misconduct hearing.

PC Natalie Toft, based in Leeds, answered allegations that she breached the standards of professional behaviour at a hearing held at the PSD rooms in York between the 15 and 16 June.

It was alleged that:

• On 25 May 2021 PC Toft completed an internal vetting update form and failed to disclose that she had recommenced a personal relationship with a man, Mr A, who had a known criminal history.
• On 6 July 2021 PC Toft completed a separate internal vetting form and failed to disclose the true nature of her relationship with Mr A.

PC Toft admitted she had been in a relationship with the man since 2020.

The independent panel found her actions amounted to gross misconduct and she has been dismissed from the force with immediate effect.

Detective Chief Inspector Tracy Goddard-King, of BTP’s Professional Standards department, said: “PC Toft told blatant lies on two separate occasions about her relationship with a criminal and put simply, dishonesty of any kind is completely incompatible with being a police officer.

There’s no place in BTP for people who choose to conduct themselves in this way, so I support the decision of the panel to dismiss her with immediate effect.”