NINE serving West Mercia police officers have criminal convictions against their names.

A Freedom of Information request by your Worcester News revealed that of the nine, five convictions were received while the police constables were employed with the force, which covers Worcestershire and Herefordshire and currently employs a total of 2,489 officers of different ranks.

One conviction was for harassment, another for having no car insurance, and three for driving without due care and attention.

As of September 2007, four more already had convictions prior to their appointment with West Mercia. They include one for criminal damage, another for taking a motor vehicle without consent and two for public order offences.

In response to the figures, West Mercia said candidates who apply to be police officers are required to declare any criminal convictions and the force then checks the information supplied.

A spokeswoman said: "West Mercia Constabulary adopts Home Office policy when employing people with criminal convictions. Some minor convictions prior to employment with the force may be permissible but each case is looked at on merit and the age of the offence taken into consideration. Those people convicted of serious offences such as rape or murder would not be employed by the force.

"The number of serving police officers with criminal convictions working for West Mercia Constabulary equates to less than half of one per cent of the total workforce. We always seek to minimise risk to the public and staff are checked rigorously.

"Staff who have information about colleagues they suspect of wrongdoing are encouraged to use the force's Safecall confidential phone number to report their suspicions."

The current vetting procedure allows for periodic checks of staff once they are in the post.

The spokeswoman said officers who are convicted of an offence while employed with the force will be subject to internal disciplinary proceedings and their police career will be reviewed accordingly.

She said that any complaints from the public about police officers are thoroughly investigated by the force's professional standards department and, where appropriate, by the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

  • What do you think? Discuss this story in our Your Say section by clicking the 'discuss this' link at the top of this story or clicking here.