Former officer barred from policing after gross misconduct found

A former officer who used police systems to access a member of the public’s personal details has been barred from policing following an accelerated gross misconduct hearing.

Gross misconduct was found against former police constable Charlotte Turner during an accelerated hearing at the Portishead Headquarters, in Valley Road, today (Thursday 21 May), overseen by a Legally Qualified Chair.

The inappropriate use of police systems came to light in September 2024 and she was arrested the following month.

PC Turner was suspended while the criminal investigation was carried out and she later resigned in March 2025.

She pleaded guilty at Bristol Magistrates’ Court to two counts of computer misuse on 26 June last year.

She was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court on 29 August to an 18-month community order and was told she must complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

A five-year restraining order was also granted against former PC Turner and she was ordered to pay an £114 victim surcharge.

On the conclusion of the criminal case, gross misconduct proceedings continued and an allegation of discreditable conduct was found to be proven.

The panel was told how she had used Niche, the police crime recording system, to look up details about one person and the car insurance details of another person known to her.

The chair said that PC Turner would have been sacked had she still be employed by the service and her name has been placed on the Police Barred List.

Head of Professional Standards Department, Supt Larisa Hunt, said: “It is our responsibility as police officers to uphold the law and our professional standards of behaviour and the actions of PC Turner were unacceptable.

“We have access to a large amount of personal information which should only be used for a policing purpose and should be correctly documented with rationale behind the access.

“It is important that our officers and staff maintain strong professional boundaries and should never use their job to their perceived benefit.

“We recognise that the majority of officers do abide by our policies and maintain such boundaries, but it is our job in Professional Standards to weed out those who seek to use the information for unjust or inappropriate reasons.”

The full outcome of this hearing will be added to the misconduct section of our website when it is available.