Former Sussex police officer breached standards of professional behaviour

A former Sussex police officer has had allegations of breaching standards of professional behaviour proven against her after she lied about being a victim of a serious assault.

Former PC Tamzin Duncan, 20, was the subject of an accelerated misconduct hearing presided by the Chief Constable at Sussex Police HQ, Lewes, on Tuesday 9 January.

An accelerated misconduct hearing is held when there is incontrovertible evidence and it is in the public interest to remove the officer from service as soon as possible, or in the case of an ex-officer, to have them placed on the barred list.

The hearing was told that the officer made an untrue allegation to Sussex Police that she was the victim of a serious assault on 12 July 2023.

During the investigation for that matter, she made further untrue statements regarding the nature and circumstances of the alleged incident. She was also dishonest on her vetting applications prior to joining Sussex Police.

These matters amounted to a breach of the standards of professional behaviour of honesty and integrity. Chief Constable Shiner, found the allegations proven and therefore the former officer would have been dismissed from the force, had she not already resigned.

Chief Constable Shiner said: "I expect our officers to act with the upmost integrity, and in accordance with the force’s values, the Code of Ethics and the Standards of Professional Behaviour. The conduct of this officer fell far short of those high standards.

“Never has it been more important for the behaviours and actions of every person who serves within policing to be beyond exemplary.

“As a Chief, I will continue to dismiss those whose conduct falls short of the high standards that I, my colleagues, and importantly, our communities rightly expect.”