POLICE have today apologised for the conduct of some of their staff which they say fell short of “integrity and professionalism” after a woman said she was harassed by officers in High Wycombe after ending a relationship with a member of the force.

Complaints about officers allowing her on a ride-along, into a police station and allowing her access to the National Police Computer were upheld – with two officers being fined and one reprimanded.

But Thames Valley Police also said more work was being done to determine whether Katie Bowman’s complaints of harassment – some of which they say had not been made to them before - are valid. One previous complaint of harassment she made in 2009 was found to be unsubstantiated, they said.

Ms Bowman, 24, from Marlow, claims police in High Wycombe harassed her from 2007 to 2009, and stopped to breathalyse her 54 times in one year.

She said it started after she complained about one of the Thames Valley Police's officers.

Dominic Grieve, the attorney general, has raised concerns with chief constable, Sara Thornton, after Ms Bowman contacted him.

Ms Bowman told the Free Press she met the officer in 2007 at Marlow Police Station after her car was vandalised.

He took her statement and later contacted her after getting her number from the statement.

She said he then took her on ride-alongs and allowed her to speak over the police radio, but later stopped the relationship developing.

She complained about how he got her number, and the officer attended a misconduct hearing.

Ms Bowman said: "After the complaint he pulled me over and said: 'I could make your life hell.' Then it started.

"Since all that happened I have been stopped constantly. That is why I am complaining. It is a personal vendetta."

Among the reports, Ms Bowman was given a caution for assault which was formally withdrawn after a standards investigation, was taken to court twice for careless driving and found not guilty, and had her car seized eight times.

The officer has said in a newspaper interview he was never in a relationship with her.

Information released by police says ‘local resolutions’ were made in agreement with Ms Bowman about two separate complaints she made (in 2008 and 2009) concerning the conduct and behaviour of officers toward her after she was stopped in her vehicle – meaning investigations did not proceed further and the matters were resolved through some form of dialogue instead.

Another complaint made in 2008 about the fact she had been taken on a ride-along, allowed access to a police station and performed a Police National Computer check with two off-duty officers was upheld, resulting in one officer being reprimanded and fined and another being fined.

On another occasion, in 2009, Ms Bowman complained various officers from High Wycombe harassed her by “causing her to be stopped, reported/ arrested, her vehicle seized and maliciously prosecuted". Investigators say they found the harassment to be unsubstantiated.

At the same time, however, Ms Bowman complained of ‘incivility’ and ‘irregularity of procedure’ in connection with her being cautioned after a complaint from a cyclist that he had twice been hit by an “implement hanging out the window of a car”. These claims were substantiated, with one officer given management action for incivility while another was given management action for irregularity of procedure.

In a statement released today by Thames Valley Police, Deputy Chief Constable Francis Habgood said: “Thames Valley Police firmly believes in being open and transparent. The questions posed to us about Ms Bowman in recent days have focused on historic allegations that happened five years ago and were dealt with by people no longer in the Force. Therefore we needed to access and review the paper files of the case before we could gain an accurate picture of the issues.

“Ms Bowman’s recent complaints have focused specifically on the intelligence reports we hold and not about the previous complaints of harassment.

“Professional Standards has carried out an initial review of the information we hold and we are now in a position to release the full list of complaints made to the Force by Ms Bowman and the outcomes.

“Further work needs to be carried out to determine the accuracy of some of the numbers of stop checks and breathalyser tests being claimed by Ms Bowman as these did not form part of any previous complaints to the Force. This will feature in the report requested by Police and Crime Commissioner Anthony Stansfeld.

“Our records clearly show that police had submitted intelligence reports on Ms Bowman two years prior to her alleged relationship with a Thames Valley Police Officer which Ms Bowman claims was the trigger for harassment. Two officers were reprimanded and fined following a complaint from Ms Bowman in 2008 about their conduct off duty. The details of which have been provided.

“These officers behaved in a totally unacceptable way, were this to happen today I strongly believe the outcome would be very different.

“If following the review there is any evidence that the claims made by Ms Bowman about harassment are true then we will of course make a full apology. The issue with regards to the intelligence reports is separate and these will also be reviewed once again.

“It is essential that the people we serve can have absolute trust and confidence in us to conduct ourselves with integrity and professionalism at all times. It would appear that in this case the conduct of a few officers has fallen short of this and for that I offer my sincere apologies.”