Officer sacked after arrest failure cover-up

A police officer has been sacked by Nottinghamshire Police after failing to make an arrest and then attempting to cover his tracks.

A misconduct hearing was told that, in November 2024, PC Aaron Harthill-Harrison had been called to reports of a suspicious man looking at houses and gardens before climbing over a gate with a suitcase.

He stopped the man and got his name and address, but failed to arrest him or search the suitcase - before lying to colleagues later that the man was of no fixed abode and the case had been empty.

The hearing concluded he had breached professional standards relating to honesty and integrity, and he was dismissed from the force without notice.

Nottinghamshire Police said the suspect - a prolific offender - was arrested by PC Harthill-Harrison on suspicion of burglary at a later time, but the suitcase, described as a vital piece of evidence, was never recovered.

The force added PC Harthill-Harrison had reflected on the incident and accepted "mistakes were made".

Assistant Chief Constable Gary Hooks, who chaired the hearing at the force's headquarters, said: "PC Harthill-Harrison failed to act upon the information provided to him, thereby jeopardising an opportunity to catch a criminal and keep the community safe from a prolific burglar.

"The situation was made worse by PC Harthill-Harrison's deliberate dishonesty in his communications with colleagues about the actions he had taken and the information about the suspect of which he was aware.

"This conduct undermines public confidence in and the reputation of the police service, and therefore PC Harthill-Harrison will be dismissed from the force without notice and placed on the police barred list."

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