A FORMER police inspector has been found guilty of gross misconduct after a force disciplinary hearing was told he had failed to carry out checks on detainees.

The Gloucestershire Police tribunal heard that former Forest-based officer Calvin Owen failed to do the checks in 2015 when the custody suite was moved a 15-minute drive from his office, and filled out the forms saying detainees were asleep.

The panel also ruled that he used another officer’s log in to reset the custody clock to make it appear that a review had been undertaken.

Mr Owen’s legal representative Mark Ley-Morgan said senior officers were aware for several months of what was happening after the custody suite was moved, and could have taken the matter up with the inspector instead of turning it into a misconduct investigation.

The panel also ruled that Mr Owen gave his police email address to commercial organisations and had used the police computer system to access the internet for personal reasons, which were a breach of his duties and responsibilities.

If Mr Owen, who was based in the Forest from 2011, had not already retired he would have been dismissed, it said.

The tribunal barred him from any future work in the police force.

Gloucestershire Police Deputy Chief Constable Jon Stratford said after the four-day hearing in Gloucester: "Calvin Owen’s behaviour fell below the standards we would expect from our officers. It does not represent the professional approach our officers and staff adopt on a daily basis.

“The public should be reassured that our professional standards departments carried out thorough investigations and sought this hearing at the earliest opportunity following an independent investigation by the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

“Mr Owen will now be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list, which means he will not be able to work for police anywhere in the country.”