A Cambridgeshire police officer has been sacked for lying under oath at a Crown Court trial. PC Kayleigh Rocca, formerly based at Parkside police station, Cambridge, was found guilty of gross misconduct and sacked without notice following a misconduct hearing.
Chief Constable Nick Dean said: “PC Rocca was in a position of responsibility, giving evidence as the officer in the case of a criminal trial before a Crown Court judge and jury, under oath.
“Her conduct jeopardised a criminal investigation into offending against a child.
“Honesty and integrity are fundamental requirements for any police officer and a lesser outcome would not serve to mark the seriousness of this misconduct.”
The allegations against PC Rocca were that on 8th June 2023 and 12th June 2023 she “acted without honesty and integrity and acted in a manner likely to bring discredit upon the police service”.
Specifically, “in that she deliberately or recklessly gave evidence under oath before the Cambridge Crown Court that was untrue and had a tendency to mislead the court.
“The effect of her evidence is that the court were misled as to whether PC Rocca had a specific recollection of carrying out CCTV enquiries in connection with a police investigation.
“The standards engaged are honesty, integrity, and discreditable conduct. The matters amount to gross misconduct and are so serious as to justify dismissal.”
Despite mitigation offered, the force felt it had no alternative other than to sack her.
The hearing found her “conduct was deliberate” and she was “solely responsible for this conduct”.
It continued: “PC Rocca was in a position of responsibility, giving evidence as the officer in the case in the course of a criminal trial before a Crown Court judge and jury, under oath.
“As to harm, it is clear that PC Rocca’s conduct jeopardised a criminal investigation into offending against a child, and it is accepted that it contributed to that case being dismissed.
“The conduct of the officer resulted in the trial judge stating that he would make a finding that there was an abuse of process in the prosecution of the case, which now included ‘bad faith’ on the part of the officer in the case, PC Rocca.”
The findings continued: “The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have recorded an ‘adverse judicial finding’, meaning effectively that PC Rocca cannot perform any function in which she could become a witness”.
The tribunal also said it had considered how the behaviour of PC Rocca would be perceived by the public at large and found that “harm is high” with reputational damage to Cambridgeshire Constabulary and “undermining of public confidence in policing, the evidence that they give before juries under oath, together with their investigations”.
The hearing also considered ‘aggravating factors’ and in this instance listed “the failing of the officer to correct her course” which they considered to have been “a deliberate act to mislead the court.
“The officer had multiple opportunities to correct the position at the first trial, and after but did not do so until cross examined again some 6 or so months later” and maintained that position when quizzed by senior officers.
In mitigation the hearing was told that
1: PC Rocca did not set out to mislead the court but panicked.
2: PC Rocca did correct her position in the course of the second trial.
3: The officer was relatively new to the job, this was her first Crown Court trial.
Although the hearing accepted that PC Rocca was a junior officer and provided character references “as the guidance makes plain, a police officer will usually be able to rely on evidence of an unblemished past, but because of the importance of public confidence, the potential of such mitigation is necessarily limited”.
The misconduct hearing noted they were “surprised to find that this officer was given the responsibility of this case in the first place”.
It noted a letter from Chief Constable Dean that this should not have happened, and change has been implemented to make sure that crimes of such seriousness are not investigated by such an inexperienced police officer.
The hearing accepted “that some of the reputational harm in this case has been caused by organisational failings in assigning a case of such seriousness to this officer.
“However, despite what is said on PC Rocca’s behalf she fundamentally should have told the truth, it is not outside the scope of any police officer to tell the truth under oath and that is what this finding is about”.
The gravity of her behaviour meant that any sanction less than dismissal without notice would be justified.
The hearing concluded: “It is entirely unacceptable for police officers to lie, but particularly to lie during giving evidence in a criminal trial, necessarily being under oath at the time, even when if panicked or in stressful situation, and young in service.
“It is a basic requirement of a police officer that they can be expected to understand and more importantly to give honest answers when questioned in court; there is or was a significant risk of enormous harm to public confidence in the police service.
“A lesser outcome would not serve to mark the seriousness of this misconduct, deter others from similar misconduct and fulfil the purpose of the police misconduct regime”.
PC Rocca was dismissed without notice and placed on the College of Policing barred list.
Cambridge based PC Kayleigh Rocca has been dismissed without notice. A misconduct hearing was told that on 8th June 2023 and 12th June 2023 she “acted without honesty and integrity and acted in a manner likely to bring discredit upon the police service”.
