A police officer breached professional standards after he informed a member of the public about an arrest.

East Sussex Police Sergeant Peter James, 48, was subjected to a three-day misconduct hearing at Sussex Police headquarters in front of a panel led by an independent legally qualified chair on Monday, July 8.

The panel heard that James had disclosed the confidential information that a person has been arrested amid an ongoing investigation.

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The information was then passed to someone who knew the suspect, who was then informed of the breach of confidentiality.

The arrested person made a complaint to the force following the incident.

James was given a final written warning. 

Detective Superintendent Andy Wolstenholme, deputy head of professional standards, said: "Information provided to the police, or any information that we gather in the course of our work is strictly private, and will only ever be disclosed for a legitimate policing purpose.

"It has been proven that this officer disclosed information that he shouldn’t have done which is entirely inappropriate, discrediting the police service, and risking the public trust in providing privileged information to us.”