Drunk Thames Valley Police officer receives internal punishment

The officer, who has been given anonymity, was involved in an incident at around 9pm on April 1, 2023, when they drove their vehicle in a parked car on Kingsash Road, Aylesbury.

The off-duty policewoman had been over the legal limit and received a criminal punishment of paying a £440 fine (plus victims’ surcharge and prosecution costs), where she was also disqualified from driving.

At a private misconduct hearing on January 22 this year, the panel heard that the officer had ‘confirmed her admissions’, and that her mental health issues had a ‘direct and substantial contribution to her decision to drive and without this background, the offence was highly unlikely to have been committed.’

It was also revealed that the officer in question had been diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder, as confirmed by a consultant psychiatrist).

In a medical report, which was produced on July 14, 2023, the psychiatrist said: “A single woman with a history of severe depressive episodes, periods of hypomania (elated mood) which is known as Bipolar II disorder.

“She also fulfils the criteria for attention deficit disorder.

She had a partially treated severe depressive episode at the time of the driving offence.

“She has good insight into her illness, takes a responsible approach to managing it with medication and treatment, can recognise the warning signs of relapse, and to speak to her line manager when it affects her work performance.

“She can reflect on her actions at the time of the offence and see how she might have managed her illness differently to prevent a similar situation.”

The report also concluded that the officer had an ‘early and full admission’ following the incident on April 1, 2023, where she showed ‘genuine remorse and acceptance of responsibility’ in what was described as a ‘single episode of a short duration’.

The officer’s punishment was confirmed as a ‘final written warning of two years’.